Parenthood
by Plastic Emotion
Summary: [COMPLETED]Little Junior's getting himself into more than he can deal with. Who does he belong to? PG-13 for violence in later chapters and death.
1. The Birth of a Hero

**Parenthood **

A/N: Okay, It's me here to tell you that in this story, all the titans are adults. I'm kinda against early parents, I mean, like they can take care of the baby? Yeah right! So there older here and wish luck on this poor titan who has this kid.

* * *

The Birth of a Hero

Six young adults and an older one sat in the waiting room. Time ticked by and a green shape-shifter stood up and began pacing back and forth. "This is so very exciting!" squealed a red headed woman.

"Exciting?! I think this poor guy's gonna have a heart attack!" joked a guy wearing a backwards cap, hood pulled over that, and sunglasses, hiding his good looks. He had always been concealed from the world and being older meant no difference to his style. "Don't jinx it, he might really have one." remarked his girlfriend. Her violet eyes traveled from him to the pacing titan.

"It'd be the perfect place to." he answered, opening a magazine he found. For some reason, it stayed very quiet when they all should have been talking excitedly, as Starfire felt. Beast Boy knew he should be bouncing off the walls at the moment, but he couldn't help but feel worried. The baby wasn't supposed to be born this early. He had a pit in his stomach ever since his wife, Amy, said 'it's time'.

His brother-in-law tossed the magazine to the side, "This place should at least have one good thing to read!" Raven looked at him, "Stop complaining."

Starfire held on to Robin's hand. He looked at her and smiled. This birth was bringing everyone together. Cyborg, leaning on the wall with his arms crossed, yawned. "Any day now..." he mumbled to himself. The clock ticked and tocked. Tick, tock, tick, tock. Beast Boy sat down and sighed. Nothing he or anyone could do now, but wait.

Beast Boy lied back on the hard chair and hung his head off of it. The hospital was empty and cold, except for where they were, everything was silent. Not even phones were ringing the whole time they had been there or buzzing for Doctor Philip or call for Nurse Kelly. Few lights from above were flashing on and off sometimes and the hallways were dark and gloomy. The feeling was more morgue-like than lifesaving.

After what seemed like forever, footsteps echoed in the hideout of a waiting room. A nurse with dark blond hair that had soft curls and water blue eyes entered upon their presence. "Logan?" she asked with a light smile. Beast Boy opened his eyes and lifted his head, "Here."

Everyone stood up at the same fast rate leaving Beast Boy the only one sitting. "Congratulations! It's a boy!"

A toothy grin appeared on the father's face and his brother-in-law began to cheer. "I'm an uncle!"

"So that makes me, second uncle?" asked the older man. "Makes you monkey's uncle! You had your chance already with me and Amy, Boomer." accused the guy. "Wayne, you weren't the normal type. Maybe this one will skip that generation and have the fun." threw the old man.

Wayne's mouth dropped in horror, "That's cold, Uncle Kevin. That's ice cold." Boomer put a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "You will never understand sarcasm, will you?" Wayne blinked. "Huh?"

"Raven, does he realize when you're sarcastic?"

Raven shrugged, "I don't think he's ever caught it before." "You've been sarcastic to me?" Wayne turned to her. The three caught up in the little argument and Starfire questioned the nurse, "May we see the infant?" "Of course, follow me." The nurse walked down the hallway and Beast Boy, Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg immediately followed her. "Hey! Wait for us!" called Wayne.

She led them into room four thirteen. "Look at that! The door has the date on it!" said Wayne. "And the baby's birth date!" agreed Starfire. Beast Boy ignored all this and entered the room, wanting to see his son as quickly as possible. Amy looked up and smiled gently, cradled in her arms was a bundle wrapped in blankets.

The nurse brought a couple of chairs in and left the happy family of friends. Amy cuddled the child, her brown hair shining with the sunlight seeping through the window that appeared suddenly. Her light violet eyes sparkled as they all gathered around, waiting for her to reveal the newborn.

"Before you see him," Amy told Beast Boy, "When I first looked at him I thought his name out and just to inform you, his name is yours. This is your junior, you'll see." Beast Boy carefully picked up the child and picked out the chair closest to the bed. Everyone huddled behind him as he lifted the blankets from the child's face. Everyone gasped and Wayne lowered his glasses, which for him, was rare, "Talk about clone!"

The baby was a light green and his messy, soft hair a shade darker. His ears were pointed and the face structure was exactly as the father's. Boomer whistled, "Well, well, well! Another Beast Boy!" "As if one wasn't bad enough." thought Raven. The tiny creature moved and squeaked lightly, making everyone go "Awww!"

Starfire, thrilled, hugged everyone, "This is a momentous occasion! Shall I sing the..." "NO!" Everyone yelled a little too loudly, waking the child. He moved his arms around, drooling a little. "Drool baby, aren't you?" mumbled Raven, pointing her finger at him. His tiny hand grasped her finger and squeezed. Everyone smiled and so did Raven for the moment, until her whole finger began to turn blue, "Okay, easy to say, this baby is a little strong. Make him let go."

Beast Boy unwrapped the baby's fingers and Raven shook her hand. The baby squinted in the light, looking up at everyone, wondering where he was and who they were. He fully opened his eyes and everyone stared. "Well, at least he has your eyes." offered Robin to Amy. Junior's eyes were a very dark purple and he used them to glance at everyone.

"Let me hold him?" asked Wayne. "He needs to see his uncle!" Beast Boy handed the child over and Wayne smiled. "Hey there, little buddy! I'm your Uncle Wayne! We're going to have loads of fun, right?" The baby reached and grabbed his sunglasses. "Hey! My shades!" Everyone began to laugh until Junior snapped them in half.

Then they just stared. "Strong one?" asked Cyborg. "Strong one!" agreed Robin and Boomer. Junior began to get tired with the passing around, so he started to cry. "Listen to the lungs on this one!" said Robin covering his ears. "Yes, they work a little too well!" said Raven, getting a headache. He was given back to Amy but wouldn't stay quiet. "So this is what it feels like to be a dad..." mumbled Beast Boy happily, but no one heard him. Junior's cry was too loud, "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA..."

........

"...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD! DAD!" No answer from anywhere. Was the tower empty? Couldn't be, the tower always had _someone_ in it. Maybe if he tried again? "DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!" "WHAT?!" Junior grinned, so he _was_ there! "Where are my sneakers?!"

"Wherever you left them!"

"I don't remember where I left them!"

"Ask your mother!"

Junior took a deep breath, "MO-" "Junior, don't you even dare! You come into the room that person's in if you want to discuss something!"

The thirteen-year-old sighed. His parents would never understand the fact that when kids yelled, they didn't want to be seen. He trampled into the kitchen with his roller blades, where his mom and Raven were. "Hi, Raven!" he smiled. "Hello, Junior." she returned, sipping some of her usual tea.

"Mom! Where are my sneakers?!" His mother put her hand on his head and messed with his hair, "Where you last left them." He pulled his face, "Do you and dad share brain waves?! He told me the same thing!" Amy smiled, "That's what happens when you live with someone for so long."

Junior grimaced, "Ew, don't need to hear this." Amy ruffled his hair some more, "They're by your door." Junior smiled, "Thanks and leave my hair! You're ruining my look!" Amy raises an eyebrow. "Your look? Yeah, the out-of-bed-I-didn't-or-ever-will-comb-my-hair look?" Raven smiled and shook her head. Junior lifted his mother's hand off of his head, "Like I said, _thanks_ mom!"

He was about to race off when his mom stopped him, "No skating in the tower." Junior sighed dramatically, "Mom! It's not called 'skating'!" he said, bending his fingers. "It's blading!"

His mother kept her grip, "I don't care for the name, to me it's all the same! Take 'em off." He groaned, unstrapped his blades, and left. "That seems to be a hit, huh?" said Raven, once Junior was gone. "Oh, that boy lives on wheels." Amy said, placing her cup in the sink. "Yeah, I don't remember any time at all that I had seen him without them." agreed Raven.

Junior ran to his room and tossed his blades into the closet. He quickly put his sneakers on and went to his computer. He opened his email access and checked them. His friend, Will, would send him interesting things in the email, along with a few jokes. Junior knew his parents would never approve of the jokes, definitely not his mom, so he would delete them as soon as he read them.

There was a new one today. Junior began to read, "There were these two guys and girl. One guy liked the girl but..." A knock on the door, and it slid open. "Hey kiddo, watcha up to?" Junior jumped in front of the screen and quickly unplugged the computer with his foot, "Hey dad!" he said nervously. Beast Boy raised an eyebrow, "What were you doing that I should know about?"

"Checking email!" Junior answered, smiling the innocent smile he inherited from his father.

"Yeah?" Beast Boy asked doubtfully. "Dad, you can trust me! I'm your _son_!" grinned Junior. "My one and only monster." agreed his father. "So, um, you need to tell me something?" asked Junior, relieved the conversation had changed. "Your mom's calling you."

"So much for go to the room that person's in..." Junior muttered. "That's her all right!" laughed Beast Boy, "But hurry up, before we both get in trouble!" Junior smiled and went to the kitchen. No one was there. "Uh...?"

"Mom?"

"Over here!"

He followed the voice to the front of the door. Amy stood there, holding a couple of jars filled with a pink jelly of some kind. "Starfire's shmer is here." Junior blinked, "When does Mrs. Airfire have the time to make all of this stuff?"

"Well it's kind of her job." answered a voice entering the tower. A young girl wearing a short pink dress on blades rolled in with more. Her round helmet covered most of her head down to her neck. The light blue shield that covered her eyes made them look blue, even though they were pink. A few curls came out of the back of her helmet, the only proof her hair was also pink. Everything about this girl was pink except her blades that were white.

Junior looked at her, eyes glazed for a moment, then stiffly said, "Jamie."

"Junior." she replied with the same tone. He was one of the few who actually knew her real name. Jamie was known to her gang as Gum and nothing else. Amy sighed, "Can't you two ever get along?" They gave her an expression of 'yeah right' and carried the jars to the kitchen. "Junior, tell Starfire her stuff is here." ordered Amy. He nodded and searched for the alien. "Starfire?" Opening a room, he called in, "Starfire!"

"Yes?" "Your...jelly junk is here!" "Oh, wonderful!" she came out and passed him. He walked into the entrance hallway and wondered around there for a bit. He heard a yell and a cheer. "Uncle Wayne?" He scratched his head, "I didn't know he was here!" Junior turned to head for the living room, but crashed into Jamie, knocking them both down. A flutter filled his stomach as he glared at her, "Watch where you're going, Ms. Peptobismal!"

She got up and dusted herself off, "Geez, you _are_ a mutant!"

"Pink panther!"

"Green bug!"

"Brat!"

"Dork!"

"B-..." "GARFEILD MARK LOGAN JR.!" His eyes widened and his ears sank so low they could have fallen off. He had a nasty lump in his throat, "Uh...oh..." and turned around. Amy towered over him, arms akimbo furiously. "You apologize immediately!!!" He crossed his arms and stayed quiet. "I don't hear you!" Amy bellowed. "Sorry....Jamie..." Junior managed to say between his ground teeth.

Jamie nodded in pure satisfaction. "It's okay, Junior." she said in the creamiest voice she had. Amy put her hand on Junior's shoulder and squeezed tightly, "Don't worry, Jamie, he won't be talking like that again. _I'll make sure of it_." Jamie gave a sweet smile, "Well, I have to get home now, bye Mrs. Logan! _Bye_, Junior!"

The girl rolled passed them and Junior watched her leave. There was just no possible way for him to tell her how he felt, so treating her the total opposite would have to do. His mother glared down at him, "What has gotten into you?!" Junior sighed and waited for the huge fuss she was going to make.

"Nothing, mom! We always do that!" he backed up. "Oh really?" asked Amy in a dangerous tone that told Junior that was the wrong thing to say. "Er..." "If I ever catch you doing that again, you'll be in for it! Out of my sight, now!" she scolded.

Junior shook his head and went to the living room. There, sitting on the couch watching TV, were his dad, Uncle Wayne, Robin, and Cyborg. "Nephew!" Wayne greeted, making space for him to sit. "What was all that yelling a few minutes ago?"

Junior sat and sank in, "Argument with Jamie equals argument with mom." Beast Boy drank some soda and continued to watch the game, "You fighting with that girl again?" "Dad, when haven't we been fighting?" Junior replied. "Ah, he got himself a girl, leave him alone." joked Cyborg. Junior jumped up, "She is _not_ my girl!" he said angrily.

All the guys burst out laughing at Junior's anger and he glared at them all. "Forget this! I'm going out again..." muttered Junior, clenching his fists. "Here." Beast Boy took out a ten and gave it to him with out moving his view from the TV. Junior grabbed it and ran to his room, getting his blades on. At that moment, he felt out of place in the tower. He was the only teenager who lived there and even when the adults joked around with him, he couldn't find the humor in it.

"Wish there was someone out there with me..." he thought sadly. At the thought, he realized he was always out of place. No kids where like him, and he didn't belong with adults. Who could he turn to? Who could help him with his problems? "Not dad." he mumbled quietly. His father was a cool guy, had lots of friends and gave good hints but he would never understand Junior. The mind of a thirteen-year-old. The problems he had been going through and never told anyone. Not even his family. Junior breathed out and left the tower in search of what? He had no clue.

* * *

A/N: Me again. For those who are going to ask, Amy is one of my characters that I made for Beast Boy. Later on, I'll give the story on how they met and all that, but now I like this one so read it good, enjoy and relate to all the problems teenagers go through and deal with. You'll connect with something here. Review please. I love reading those.

-_The Shape-Shifting Chick_


	2. The Day Goes On

**The Day Goes On**

Junior rolled down the street, in hopeful watch of the neighborhood. The first thing he saw was the gray, bleak sky. It was never sunny anymore, even in the summer, but cloudy and windy. "Just a reminder of how lucky I am to be here..." Junior muttered, pulling his cap's visor to the back.

He decided to go into the city. If he was lucky enough, he might find something to do. At that point, he didn't feel like doing anything, as most days. His eyes searched the streets, wondering what it had been like for his dad to be fighting crime with his best pals, side by side, protecting the same place he was walking threw.

"Must have been real fun..." he sighed, bored. Junior wished he could help people, as his parents did. "My power is just a waste."

A truck passed by and parked by a gym. Two men got out and opened the back, carrying down with great effort, very large and bulky weights loaded in boxes. They pulled inch by inch, until one said he needed a rest because of his back pains. "C'mon! We need to get these in there before the time runs out and the phone rings off the hook!" complained the other. "I can't." breathed his partner. Junior rolled over to them, "Do you need help?"

They both looked at him as if he were crazy, "Thanks for the concern kid, but this is work for a man, not a boy." Junior pressed on, "But you're hurt and..." "Kid, don't worry about it! We're not going to put you in danger. You'll hurt yourself more than I did." Junior shook his head, "People just don't understand." he thought to himself.

He stretched over and grabbed the boxes. "Leave those al...!" The two men stared in total shock. "What the..." Junior carried the boxes with one hand, no problem, "Where do they go?"

The injured one jerked his head in the direction of the gym. "In there..." Junior nodded and opened the door, leaving the weights in the entrance hallway. He came back and the two guys were still there, staring at him. "Thanks kid..." said one. "Here to help." Junior replied and continued on his way. The green teenager spent his time around the streets, with nothing to do, and eventually went into a store to buy some candy.

He gave the ten dollars to the cashier and in return, he received a very large bag of mixed candies. He was about to head out of the store, when the gang showed up. He ducked back in and hid behind a rack of cereals. "Four sodas." ordered the leader of the Ginjins, Fizz. The tall boy leaned on the counter and waited. His black jacket hung over his thin body and white T-shirt. His jeans were so low, one wondered how he didn't trip over himself when he would blade. He wore a hat that was too big for him, so it stopped right were his eyes were, covering his eyebrows but making his dark circles under his eyes very noticeable. His skin was very pale, making a first-time glancer think he was deathly ill.

A member from the gang joined him, "What's the wait for?" he asked in a high raised voice. Fizz shook his head, "There's a time for everything. You wait." The questioner, Slash, stayed quiet. His light brown hair fell into his eyes, perfect reason for his sunglasses. Even when it was hot out, he always wore a hood that covered up to his neck. He had slash designs all over the hood, keeping up with his nickname.

The person behind the counter returned with the sodas, "Sorry for the wait." he apologized. Fizz stared at him with a dead expression and paid the money. The man took the money and said nothing more. He knew this kid was strange. Junior watched this all happen from his little hideout. He would see these kids everyday, but not utter one word to them. Except for Jamie, he doubted any of the others knew him, but he knew them.

Two girls came in, "What's taking...oh!" The blue-haired girl grabbed a soda and instantly shut up. This was Bubbles. She received her name quickly for her peppy personality. Besides the fact that her favorite color was blue. She wore her hair short and she had a light blue blouse and Jean shorts on. It was a rule not to use your real name when you were excepted into the gang. All rules where created by Fizz and stayed that way. There had been two other members, but after they each broke a rule, Fizz did something no one will ever know to them.

This made Junior on the edgy side about being around them, but they were the kids from the block and ones who stayed outside as much as he did. They walked out and Junior stayed as far as he could until he, himself, walked out of the store. "Junior?" His stomach churned a bit and he turned around.

They circled him quickly. "You know this kid, Gum?" asked Slash. They all looked at her and she nodded slowly, "Yeah, I see him every...every week. He's a titan's kid." Fizz gave Junior his grim stare, "Hero blood..." he murmured. Junior looked into the grave face of the leader and felt as if his body was penetrating through ice. Gum was bound to tell them they fought every week she came and they would all jump him. Not that he couldn't take them on, but his guilt and upbringing wouldn't let him.

"Yeah. He's a cool guy." she told them all. Junior stared at her shocked and she gave him a look of warning as if to say don't speak unless spoken to. He got the clue very quickly. "Chu got there?" asked Slash, looking at the bag he was carrying. "Candy." Slash reached for the bag, "Lemme get some." Junior handed the bag over and Slash and Bubbles searched through the bag for favorites. Gum just watched and Fizz stayed with his usual silence.

Slash tossed the bag back to Junior, "Thanks. This dude _is_ alright. Whacha think Fizz?" Fizz's glance went to the speaker. "I'm thinking we better go." he answered quietly. The others nodded and began walking down the side of the street. "Later green!" said Slash. Bubbles winked at him and giggled. Fizz continued straight ahead without a glance elsewhere and Gum gave him a quiet look and waved.

"Why did she do that?" Junior wondered. They had just had a fight earlier, and every day the day she came, why didn't she rat on him? Was she protecting him from that creepy dude, Fizz? Was she trying to make him feel safer? Or did she like him? That last thought made Junior smile a bit, hoping it was that reason, but then came back into his reality. Girls didn't think that way. Or did they? There was so little Junior knew about girls or growing up that he should know by now. He made his way back to the tower with the rest of the candy he had left.

He went to his room and kicked off his blades, eating his candy. A knock on the door interrupted him. "Junior? You back?" It was Beast Boy. "Yeah dad." "Did you train for today?" Junior climbed into his bed, "Uh...." The door opened and Beast Boy walked in, "Let's go, buddy. Rise and shine! No train, no gain!" "Daaad!" Junior wined.

"Can't slack off, kid. You need to keep your stuff in tacked." Junior crawled deeper into his sheets and Beast Boy picked him up, "Let's go!" "No, let me go! Dad! Put me down, you know how wrong this is!?" Beast Boy nodded, "Yeah, my son not listening to his dad, trying to sneak not doing his training. Pitiful!" Beast Boy made it to the workout room and dumped Junior on the floor.

Junior sighed, "You're so gentle, dad." Beast Boy smirked, "Well, if you'd train more, you wouldn't have felt that!" His son grabbed the nearest clipboard, which happened to be his, and wrote the date. He tossed it to his father and ran to Cyborg's weight machine. Beast Boy turned it on and Junior readied himself for the first drop. He handled the first five nicely, but the sixth one needed effort and the seventh one was a struggle. The eighth one came and he yelled, "No more!" Beast Boy quickly turned it off and helped his son up.

"Great job! Big improvement since last month!" congratulated Beast Boy, recording the data. "You know, I helped these two guys carry in weights today." told Junior, "They thought I couldn't do it at first." Beast Boy smiled, "Handy gift, huh?" Junior's smile held for a second or two, then faded. "I guess..." Beast Boy sensed the depression in his son's voice, but Junior cut him off before he could figure out what was wrong. "Next, my speed." Junior climbed onto the treadmill and ran as fast as he could. The numbers sped up the faster he went, higher and higher until they reached seventy-five MPH. The number stayed there and he kept going for a half hour. Beast Boy wrote this down.

"Acceleration, agility, and hearing." Beast Boy dimmed the lights and Junior stood in the middle of the room, eyes closed. Beast Boy set the number ten up and watched Junior. Junior listened for anything out of the ordinary. Quiet. All quiet. Behind him, something squeaked quietly. He swiftly slid to the side and punched the demo, sending it into the wall. One from the side, right next to him and in front. He ran, using only his hearing and touch, led the two into each other, making them crash. He continued his training until the door slid open.

Thinking this was another training session, Junior ran to it quickly, but stopped. This one smelled of interesting perfume and slight flower essence. "This is human...Raven?!" Junior opened his eyes and before him she stood. Beast Boy came over, "Well, you're nose is working too!" he laughed, checking things off on the chart. "Dinner." She told them and left.

"All right, you're done for today." announced Beast Boy. "Take a quick shower and come down." Junior walked down the hallway, "I'm not hungry."

"Not hungry?!" Beast Boy remarked, staring at his son. "Never in the history of the beginning of your life have you ever told me that one before!" He shrugged, "Really, I'm not..." Junior went to the bathroom and took an ice cold shower. The cool water hitting his face lightly felt so refreshing after that workout. He stepped out, making a huge puddle on the floor and wrapped himself with a towel. He shook his head, whipping all the water off and looked at his face in the mirror. He stayed there a while and decided that a full mirror would help him out better.

Back in his room, he put on some boxers and stared at himself in his large mirror. The young one flexed and watched his reflection curiously. He had definitely improved on himself, but had never noticed before until that moment. He smiled to inspect his teeth. He could do much better, but his pointed teeth bothered him. "I'll ask about that later." he said, looking at the one tooth that stuck out just like his father's. It scared him how much they looked alike. One could even say he was a duplicate.

He searched his face, checking for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing. A clear, zit-free face. "Good, let's keep it that way." He continued to stare at the mirror, almost daring to enter it. It was as if he was meeting a whole new person. "_Your look? Yeah, the out-of-bed-I-didn't-or-ever-will-comb-my-hair look?_" his mother's voice popped into his head. His hair _could_ use a little combing...

"Junior?" his mother's voice. "Are you alright?" she asked between the door. "Yeah, hold on, let me get some pants on." answered her boy. "What are you doing in there?"

"Nothing. Just..." he glanced at the mirror deciding this was guy stuff, "...nothing." He grabbed some Jeans and a T-shirt. Quickly putting them on, he opened his door. "You're not hungry?" she asked, worried. "I'm not sick." he immediately told her. "Are you sure?" Junior leaned his head back, "Mom!"

"Well, then, what have you been doing in here?" she interrogated, searching around the room. "Nothing!" answered Junior. Finding a bag, she lifted it, "Oh, I see why you're not hungry! You're filled up with junk!" Junior glanced at the bag, "I didn't eat all that!" Amy crossed her arms, "And who did?"

"I sort of met up with Fizz and them. Two of those guys ate threw half my bag!" Junior explained. "I don't like that boy." disregarded Amy. "O...kay." Junior shrugged, taking the bag and tossing it in the trash. "Your father and I have been noticing you're a little out of tune lately..." Amy started. "Mom, I'm fine!"

"I believe you, ...but, if you need to talk to any of us, feel free to." She told him, giving him a hug. He just stood there, wrapped in the hug, silent. "Won't give me a hug still?" she asked, quietly. "I wish I could mom..." he mumbled. "I know. I know." She released him and headed out of the room. "I'll be down in a minute." he answered after her. She nodded and left.

Junior locked his door and went back to the mirror. He was a teenager. He was growing up. He was due for a change and he was going to fix that now.

A/N: I hope by now you can tell he's got issues with the whole strong guy thing. Hoping you like it and for those who where reading The Chaos Emerald, my wonderful cousin found it again. It didn't get totally deleated so....It's going back UP!!! Yay.


	3. A Difference

**A Difference**

Junior reached for an item he had not touched in over ten years. Holding it firmly in his hand, he looked into the mirror, his new friend. He dunked the comb into a tub of gel and carefully combed his hair, making it neat. He left the comb in the jar and gave an inspection. Having neater hair made him look so much better.

He went to his closet and dared to open it. Clothes leaked out of the small room, creating a sea of human wear. He pulled out a navy blue shirt, changing the T-shirt and shoving everything back into the closet. He grabbed a dark blue cap and placed it on his head, visor to the back. For some reason, glasses needed to be in order. He looked around his drawer, Wayne had given him a few pairs a while back. A found a black-lensed pair and put them on. After tying his sneakers, he slowly walked to the mirror to see what he looked like.

"Wow." Junior seemed older than he really was with a change of clothes and proper matching. He had impressed himself and now it was time to see what the others thought. "Mom'll freak..." he smiled slowly. He'd like to see that. Stepped down the stairs and into the first floor hallway, Junior listened for voices, which he successfully heard in the dining room. "They're still eating?!" he wondered.

Taking a deep breath, he walked in. "Man, that play was a full time cheat!" complained Cyborg. "Can you shut up and just pay up?!" asked Wayne. Cyborg slid a twenty-dollar bill to Wayne. "I just know how to call the right moves." "You mean choose them." Cyborg corrected. Beast Boy joined them, eating a bowl of ice cream, "Don't you owe me like, forty dollars?" he asked Wayne.

Wayne waved his hand, "Uh, no..." "Uh, yes!" said Beast Boy, grabbing the twenty before Wayne could. "Twenty more to go!" he laughed. "Money stealing brother-in-law..." mumbled Wayne. "Money owing brother-in-law." Beast Boy replied. Wayne got up and went for the refrigerator, but froze. "..._Junior_?!" It got very quiet and they all looked at him.

"You picked out matching clothes..." whispered Cyborg. "And fixed up his hair...wearing shades..." continued Wayne. "Kid, you look good." said a stunned Beast Boy. Junior wanted to laugh so badly at their reactions, he was extremely disappointed that he didn't have a camera. "What got into you?" asked Beast Boy. Junior shrugged, "I don't know..."

Wayne pretended to cry and raised his hand, "Oh, my nephew's going through his stages! Someone get me a tissue!" Junior looked up and shook his head, "Oh, come on!" "What do you need a tissue..." Raven walked in and stayed quiet as her glance went to Junior. "Ohh...well!" Beast Boy voiced up, "Amy! Get over here!"

Amy walked in, "What?" She stopped and looked at her son. "Junior?! What's going on?" He shook his head, "Nothing. I just put on clothes and everyone's all ...spooked." "Amazed." Raven corrected. Junior raised an eyebrow. "You see, you've never really cared about how you looked..." said Beast Boy. "There's always time for change." answered Junior, quietly.

Amy put her arms around Beast Boy's neck, "Well, as I explained before, if there's anything you need to talk about, feel free..." He nodded and left the room. Beast Boy looked up at her, "You set him up to this?" She shook her head, "No! All I told him was that if he needed to talk about anything, to feel free to tell us about it." Cyborg stretched, "Better get to the shop..." he left the room and Wayne went with him.

"I think you're pressuring him too much." muttered Beast Boy. "Let him be a kid."

"I am _not_ pressuring him! I'm giving him advice. The advice _you_ should be giving him!"

"If he wants to talk, he'll come to us! And advice on what? I have no idea what he does!"

"Great impression you're giving! You should know what he does! No wonder he's been off these past few days!"

"That has nothing to do with it! I think it's his powers!"

"Don't blame substitutes on your wrongs!"

"I'm serious!"

"Oh, and I'm not?!"

"Oh please!"

Junior, hiding in the shadows of the hallway, listened to the entire argument. Every time they argued, it broke his heart, small pieces at a time, but when he heard his name being pulled in there, chunks broke. Junior hated a lot of things. He hated nagging. He hated not being able to use his powers to the full extent. He hated the fact that his powers grew with him, so it was dangerous physically. But, the thing he despised the most were his parents arguing.

When he was younger, he used to cry in his room, alone, so no one would know how he felt. Now, he felt as if the argument pulled him to listen, making him feel awful and guilty. "My fault..." he thought. Slowly, he removed the glasses and watched his parents fight, every kid's nightmare coming true. Junior stood up from his little dark spot and held back his tears. This was getting out of control, even Raven was staring.

"Don't even try that with me!"

"Try what? The I'm ignoring you act?"

"You are getting on my nerves _so _badly today...!"

"You know, that's it! This needs to end, _now_!"

Junior ran in, face flushed, "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" They both looked at Junior shocked, Raven stared, and Wayne stuck his head in, "What was that?!" "Year after year, I deal with this! You guys never noticed that I was somewhere, listening, watching everything?! I can't take this anymore! You two are KILLING ME!" and with that, he charged to his room and slammed the door.

Wayne entered in, rubbing his neck, "I'm no kid expert, but someone needs to talk to him." Amy sat down quietly, "He's listened to every argument..." Raven looked at her, "What child doesn't? They know something's wrong and want to find out what." Wayne nodded, "I used to do that when Aunt Jessie was still alive. Arguing with Boomer. It's heart breaking when you're young..." Beast Boy banged his head on the table, "I better go talk to him...now..."

Beast Boy went upstairs and stood in front of his son's room. "I messed up big time..." he sighed, knocking on the door. "What?!" a stiff answer came from inside. "I need to talk to you." It stayed quiet. Beast Boy opened the door. The room's lights were off, but he could see Junior's outline thrown out on his bed. He went into the room and turned on the small yellow light on Junior's desk and dimmed it. He sat next to Junior and stared at the floor. Junior didn't move, but he started the conversation. "I'm the problem."

Beast Boy's stare went to his son, "No! You never were!" "Then why are all the arguments about me?" he asked in a grim tone. "It's you what we talk about. We argue about each other." Junior's stare went to the ceiling, "You're going to split..." Beast Boy shook his head quickly, "No! That never even crossed our minds!" Junior wasn't convinced. From all the stress and sadness, the whites of his eyes were red. "People don't argue about each other. Not when they're married, they don't." he whispered.

Beast Boy sighed. "People argue no matter what. They could be kids, teens, adults...strangers, best friends, or enemies...its all part of life. We're not always going to agree, but you're not the reason for it. Your mom and I are just a little worried about you." Junior sat up, "About what? Changing my clothes?"

Beast Boy shook his head, "No. You've been distant lately and we just want to know what's going on, that's all. You're growing up, I understand that. You're going to get interested in different things, we all go through it, but if you're confused or want to talk, I'll be the answer key, alright? Or any of the others." Junior closed his eyes and laid back down, "You won't get me."

Beast Boy smiled, "What won't I get?"

"Everything. You and mom are worried, I get that part. But, if you try to understand what I'm going through, it'll end up worse. You...always had a group of friends. They were like you...and you belonged. It's not like that with me." mumbled Junior, resting his head on his pillow. Beast Boy looked at him. He was finally figuring out something about his boy.

"I didn't always have them." Junior looked up at his dad, "What?" "We didn't know each other when we were born. I was alone for a long time. And remember, I didn't have a father around, either. I was treated different because I was different. Not a lot of people are green and have animal powers." Beast Boy smiled.

Junior stayed quiet. "Powers..." he thought. "Dad, while we're having this...talk...um..." Beast Boy waited for the question. "Why am I so strong?" Beast Boy tilted his head, "Well, strength already runs in your mom's side, you know Boomer was a boxer, right?" Junior shook his head in amazement. "Yup, a famous one, too! Well, anyway, back to your question, your mom has strength and I have animal changing powers. When you were born, they combined and well...you ended up with about triple the force."

"Was there any point in me getting them?" asked Junior. Beast Boy patted his back, "That's your job to figure out." Junior looked at Beast Boy, "But they mess me up in so many ways! I can't even shake your hand without crushing it!" he said sadly. "All you need is practice." answered Beast Boy. "I did that when I was small. I broke the dummies in half..." Junior lowered his eyes.

"I mean, well, not now...I guess, but what if...you know, I get a girlfriend soon? I...won't even be able to touch her..." Beast Boy stayed quiet. He had never thought about this before. His son seemed to be thinking about the future a lot and all the problems of it. "Yes, you will."

Junior glanced up, "How do you know?" The shape-shifter smiled, "You'll see. You won't hurt her one bit. You'll get cured, believe me." Junior sighed and thought, "How can I believe him? He's never had this problem." "So your powers been getting you down." said Beast Boy. Junior shrugged, "I guess..." Beast Boy stood up, "Well, I don't know how, but I probably made it worse so I'm going to leave now. Just remember, you're the only one we've got. It's a parent's job to care." he smiled and Junior smiled back.

He left the room and Junior got up. The small talk he just had made him feel...relieved. The argument was off his chest and he didn't feel guilty anymore. His dad had also reassured him about his powers. "Why does he trust so much that it'll be different with a girl?" He was tired out so he jumped back on his bed, falling asleep as he watched his reflection follow his every move.

A/N: Not exactly what everyone goes through, but yeah the parent arguments, I've been through them. Everyone has gone through that. Powers...I don't think so. Lol. Review please.


	4. Very Daring

**Very Daring**

"Junior? Wake up, babe." The voice sounded to far, but so comforting and warm it could only belong to one person. He slowly opened his eyes, "Mom?" he mumbled. "Hey..." she said, pushing his hair back gently. "What's up?" he said quietly. "You are. It's morning."

"Ohh..." he sat up and stretched. Usually, he was a heavy sleeper and his parents had to drag him off his bed, but it was so calm and clear, he just woke up, no fuss. He pulled his legs over the side of his bed and realized he was looking into the mirror. He had fallen asleep in his clothes, so they were all wrinkled and his pants had sagged down. Amy stood next to him and smiled, "I'm sorry about yesterday." she said.

"Dad explained everything." he told her kindly. "We agreed to not argue about disagreements, but to talk about them and figure out something that works." she filled him in. "But don't ever think you are the cause of problems in this tower, you hear me?" she said, hugging him. He nodded and saw himself. This time, he was in his mother's arms. He looked so fragile and helpless, but his mother was going to make it better. He didn't like the look, but the feeling was nice.

After breakfast, he went to the living room to see what Robin was doing. Starfire was with him and they seemed to be very close. "Better not bug in..." whispered Junior to himself. He tried to leave the room, but Starfire called him. "Junior? Come back!" He turned, regretful that he broke the bond, and walked over. "Hey." he said. "Please! Sit and spend time with us!" she offered. He looked at Robin, who nodded, and sat.

After two shows had passed, Junior felt like knocking himself out. Spending time with Starfire included telling her everything about today's world and how he was doing. Robin laughed every time she asked something new. Starfire suddenly got up, "I must make sandwiches for our lunch!" she announced. Once she left, it was very quiet. Junior stared at the floor and thought about his asking Beast Boy for advice on things. "Have a lot on the mind?" Robin asked him, knocking his thoughts out. "Uh, not much. Just whatever pops up." said Junior, moving over. "Robin?" He glanced at the boy, "Yeah?"

"Who would be the best person to ask about..." he paused. "Ask about what?" Junior stayed quiet for a while, "Well...things that happen?" Robin blinked, "Like...as in your life?" Junior nodded, "Yeah, like the updates and stuff..." "Your dad. He should know about everything that goes on with you. Most guys don't do that and end up messed up." explained Robin, while he switched the channel.

Junior nodded, "Okay..." He got up slowly and headed for his room. He needed some air today. Clear his mind and all that. He rolled down the hallway, when Wayne stopped him, "Hey can ya do me a favor?" Junior smiled, "Sure, Uncle Wayne, what do you need?" "There's no more eggs and Starfire wants to make a cake to go with lunch." Junior blinked, "Eggs?" Wayne nodded, "Yeah."

"Alright. Be back." Junior opened the door and a gust of wind blew him back. "Windy..." he muttered, grabbing his cap and jamming it on his head in the same position as always. He looked at the sky, cloudy, as it was everyday, but very dark. "It's going to rain soon." He quickly raced to the grocery store and picked out large eggs. He leaned on the counter as the cashier went to pick up something and waited.

"Bubbles! No time to be acting all girl like!" a yell came from across the street. Junior stood up straight and looked through the view glass at the four rolling on their blades on the other side of the street. Bubbles was doing spins in ballet type, and this was annoying Slash. "Come on, no ballet!" Bubbles stopped, "You're a boring fool who has no taste in arts!"

"Whatever..." he sighed, shaking his head. Junior placed the money down and grabbed the eggs. He walked outside to get a better look, when Slash pointed to him and yelled, "Yo, look! It's that Junior kid!" Bubbles smiled and spun around, hands clasped to her face, "Where?!" Slash gave her a pathetic look, "Well, maybe if you'd stop spinning like a damb barbie, you'd see 'im!"

Fizz gave a glance and stared at him coldly. Junior waved slightly and was about to leave, "Yo, wait up kid!" called Slash. They went to the crosswalk, waited for the red light and began to cross. Fizz led them and barely stumbled, "Hole ahead." he mumbled quietly. Bubbles and Slash heard him, but Jamie who was following behind, didn't. She tripped and fell, "Ow..." Forgetting that she was sitting in the middle of the street, she checked her wheels and saw one of them had chipped. "Oh great..." she muttered.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a large truck came zooming towards her. The driver, occupied with loud music and poor driving, didn't notice her lying in the street.

Slash rolled towards Junior, "What's up, green?" Junior shrugged, "Nothing, just doing a chore..." Bubbles smiled at him and waved. Fizz just gave him the same cold, hard stare. Slash looked around, "Hey, where's...?" Junior's eyes widened with horror. A large truck was zooming right at Jamie and she hadn't gotten up.

Junior's mind did a future flash of what would happen. News all over, "Thirteen-year-old run over by a careless driver. Family and friends are crushed and memories haunted. The girl had no idea, she was an innocent with no one watching over her. Friends saw in shock as her body was hit and thrown to another side of the street. Running to her as she was lifeless. The cold, sad, story of Jamie Airfire..." He shook his head, he wouldn't let that happen.

"Gum!" Bubbles screeched, terrified. Slash spun around and his shades fell off, "Oh no!" Fizz watched as the truck sped closer and closer to one of his members. His expression was as if her death would mean nothing more than a speck of dust blowing away. It was like nothing could entertain or worry him. The other two, Slash and Bubbles, stood frozen, while Fizz stared with his dead expression. Junior threw the eggs down and ran towards her. She wouldn't have enough time to get up and run. The truck was going way too fast, but he knew he could stop it.

Jamie screamed in bloody fear as she saw the speeding vehicle come to her, calling her to her death. Junior jumped in front of the truck and pressed all of his strength against it. "URRRRRHHHHHH!" He slid his blades to the side and the wheels broke off, but he didn't care. He dug his feet into the ground and pushed as hard as he could to keep the truck from touching Jamie. The back of the truck went up a little and crashed down with a thud. Junior breathed hard, in and out, as he rested on the front of the truck.

The driver came out, "Kid, are you CRAZY?!" Junior glared at him, "Are YOU CRAZY?! You almost killed her!!!" he said pointing to Jamie, who's nerves had given up, leaving her petrified and frozen. The driver smacked his head, "I almost...! I didn't even see...!" He lifted Junior off the truck, "Are you okay? Are you both okay?!" Junior stood up, but his back was killing him with a horrible pain. "I'll be fine." he uttered under his breath.

He went to Jamie and held out his hand, caringly, "You okay?" he asked softly. She stared at him, not being able to talk. He helped her up and went with her to the sidewalk. The driver climbed back in and took off slowly. Slash and Bubbles sped over to them, "Yo man! You jumped in front of a speeding truck! That was ill, man!" he said, patting Junior's shoulder. "He's a hero!" said Bubbles, eyes glittering. Jamie watched him slowly. She was still in shock of what happened.

Fizz came up to his face, "You got skill. Go to the Garage Park tomorrow. Meet us there. Seven." Fizz led them off, Slash grinning, Bubbles walking slowly with Jamie, and Jamie thinking about nothing except Junior. Junior scratched his head, "Garage Park? What do they want from me?" He shrugged and looked at the eggs, "Oh...needing more of those." He bought more and slowly walked back to the tower.

"Here..." Junior tossed the carton to Wayne and sat carefully on the couch, resting his back. "Thanks, Starfire!" She came in and took the eggs, "Wonderful! Now I may continue!" She disappeared into the kitchen and Wayne glanced at Junior. "What's wrong with you?" he asked. "Nothing, just a little back pain..." Wayne stood up, "Where?" He came closer to Junior, "It's okay, Uncle Wayne, I can deal with it!" Wayne tapped Junior's back and Junior closed his eyes in pain.

"What were you doing?"

Junior shook his head, "Nothing!" Wayne leaned his head on one side and put his hands into his pockets. "Pain like that doesn't come from doing nothing." "It's alright, not that bad." Junior denied. Wayne tapped his back again, and Junior bit his lip. "Tell me what happened."

Amy came in with a sandwich, "Guys hungry?" Wayne gave a quick glance at Junior and nodded, "Yeah. Be there in a sec." Junior stayed silent, watching his uncle. Amy left and Wayne sat back down, "They're going to find out sooner or later. Like when you need to workout." He abandoned Junior and Junior thought about what he said. He ignored this and laid down on his stomach. He stretched and closed his eyes.

"Junior?" He opened one eye, "What?"

"Do you want lunch?"

He shook his head, "No thanks." Amy crossed her arms, "Not hungry again?" He yawned, "I'm not sick." "I didn't say you where."

"You were thinking it." He tried to pull himself up, but the pain was far too worse. He grunted a little and shifted instead. His shirt rose up a little, revealing some of his back. Amy pointed, "Why is your back all red?"

He quickly pulled his shirt down, "Oh, I was just...lifting some heavy stuff..." He slowly sat up and took in some air. "What heavy stuff?" Junior opened his mouth, but closed it quickly. If he told his mother the truth, he would be grounded. Even if he did the right thing.

"Some stuff that was blocking the street. It was heavy..."

Amy looked at him, "Well, let me see, maybe ice would help." She went to the kitchen and came back with a pack, giving it to Junior. "Here." He held it and looked at her. "........thanks."

He shoved the pack into his shirt, wetting it and making it look like he had a lump on his back. "What are you doing?" asked Amy, confused. "Putting the ice on my back." he answered. "Not with your shirt on! Take it off." she commanded. He didn't move and Amy sighed. "Junior..." "Leave it." he told her.

Wayne came in, eating a sandwich, "I had to be the taster...uhh..." He sat down next to Junior, "Never taste cake when it's half baked with salt." Junior laughed and Wayne looked at him. "What's that?" he asked, pulling at Junior's shirt. "Ice pack." Wayne shook his head, "You're wetting the couch. You're going to need to wash this." He said, pulling Junior's shirt over his head.

Amy gasped and clasped her hands to her mouth, "You said you lifted _what_?!" Junior sank down, "...stuff..." Wayne blinked, "Well that was some heavy stuff!" Junior's back was all bruised up and red. "How are you able to move?" asked Amy, shocked. Junior stayed quiet and slightly shrugged, painfully. Wayne got up, "Raven can help with this." Amy nodded and her brother left to find Raven.

They soon came in, Raven, Wayne, and Beast Boy had joined them. "Lay still." Raven ordered. Junior did as told and froze. Raven's hands glowed as she concentrated her healing powers on Junior. "Better?" He sat up, much quicker than last time and with much less pain. "Loads. Thanks!" Raven pulled her hood down, "You'll still need to rest for tonight, so, no training today. Ease off." Beast Boy looked at Junior who smiled happily.

"What are you smiling about? You'll just have to work double tomorrow." said Beast Boy with an evil grin. Junior's smile faded quickly, "What?!" Beast Boy laughed, "Just kidding." "Wasn't funny." Junior sighed. "What were you doing anyway?" asked Beast Boy. "Lifting stuff?" answered Amy, with a doubtful eye.

Junior nodded, "Yeah..." He walked to his room and rubbed his back. "Rest." he said, sitting in his chair. His mind switched to what Fizz had told him. "Garage Park..." He leaned over and tossed a ball around, "I'll need my blades to get over ther..." Junior's head motioned down and he banged his desk, "My blades...." He was still wearing them and it was a wonder of how anyone didn't notice that they were horribly torn up. Probably because they were without wheels, they looked like beat up sneakers.

"These were my good ones..." he sighed, throwing them in his trashcan. "Well, I still have the others." He opened his closet and kicked all the clothes to one side, searched around, and found another pair. "Good thing I have spares." he smiled. A calendar was out on the floor and Junior picked it up. He remembered that he was to meet the Ginjins the next day. But tomorrow was also the day Jamie came over to deliver more of that fruity stuff Starfire ordered. Junior tossed the calendar, "Double whammy." he smiled.

**A/N**: Junior's a hero! Awwww! Now, whaddya thinks gonna happen next? Duh! You'll hafta wait 2 find out.

-_The Shape-Shifting Chick_


	5. Garage Park

**Garage Park**

Wayne threw a single popcorn kernel at Junior's head. The teenager had been spinning his cereal and nothing else for a good ten minutes. Junior dropped his spoon and looked up. Wayne laughed. "Spinning cereal is the universal sign of torment." Junior raised an eyebrow, "Yeah right." he smirked. "Okay, I know you're probably hating this question by now, but what's up?" Junior shook his head, "I'm meeting up with a few kids later."

Wayne threw some popcorn into the air, trying to catch them in his mouth, "Really? That's cool." "Yeah." Junior agreed, but wasn't so sure. He emptied his bowl and wondered around, wasting time. "Waiting for someone?" a curious voice teased. Junior turned around, "No...why?" Robin smiled, "Looks like it." Junior innocently jolted his head from side to side, "Waiting for time to pass. I'm going somewhere later."

Robin was about to say something, when the doorbell rang. He opened the door and Jamie waved, "Hi, order of shmer for Starfire." Robin nodded, "All right, I'll tell her." He turned around and caught Junior glancing at Jamie, slightly smiling. He walked passed Junior with a smirk that made Junior want to punch him. "Time to pass, huh?"

Once Robin was far enough down the hall, Junior looked at Jamie and smiled, "Hey." She watched him for a minute and said nothing. There was silence between the two, until Starfire arrived with Robin. The four of them brought in the five boxes of shmer and Starfire paid Jamie, "Thank you very much!" she said happily. Jamie nodded and smiled.

Junior went by the door, while Starfire talked to Jamie for a bit. Soon enough, Jamie was coming towards him. She looked up at him and stopped. They stared at each other and she finally said, "Why did you do it?" Junior blinked, "What?"

"Why? Why did you stop the truck? Why did you save me?"

"Because...it was the right thing to do." he answered quietly.

She shook off her calm state and charged up to his face, "Don't think because of yesterday anything is going to change! Get it?" He nodded as he leaned back, trying not to fall over. "Got it." She backed away, "Good. See you later." She left, leaving him dumb struck. He made fists of disbelief, "No thank you?! Or gratefulness?! Or even try to be nice?! It would've been the least I could expect from her!"

He stormed towards his room, bumping into Cyborg. "Whoa! Slow down there, Junior!" "Sorry." Junior grumbled and continued off to his room. "What's got at him?" Cyborg wondered. Junior closed his door and looked at himself.

He tossed on a T-shirt and jeans. He was going to a garage after all. Dirt zone right there. He wasn't going anywhere at the moment, so he just walked with his socks. His teeth! He forgot to ask about his teeth when he was talking to Beast Boy. He opened his door and went to find his dad. "Uncle Wayne? You know where my dad is?" he asked, finding his uncle in the living room. "Uhhhh.....here." He pointed as Beast Boy walked in.

"Dad, I need to ask you something." Beast Boy sat down, "Shoot." Junior pointed to his mouth, "Am I going to need braces?" Wayne and Beast Boy looked at him. "Braces?"

Junior stepped closer, "Yeah." Beast Boy shook his head, "No...what made you think of that one?" Junior sat, "Well, my teeth are kind of...pointy and this one sticks out." Beast Boy tilted his head, "They're supposed to be like that." Junior sighed happily, "Oh, okay. Good. One more question." Wayne sat up, "Okay, you've combed your hair, you've chosen clothes that go, you care about appearance, you care about your teeth? What's next? Girls?" Beast Boy and Wayne burst at this and Junior looked around the room, embarrassed.

Suddenly, the laughter stopped. Junior glanced at them. They were staring at him, "You were going to ask about that, weren't you?" said Wayne. Junior stayed quiet, not sure of what to say. "Um...dad, can we go to the roof?" Beast Boy nodded, "Sure." They left and Wayne shook his head, "Everything's coming at us all at once."

Junior closed the door to the roof and sat on the corner's edge. Beast Boy joined him, "Okay I already explained this stuff a while back." Junior nodded, "I know. It's not that. It's...well...I sorta...it's like...erm..." He had no idea how he was going to tell this kind of information to his father. Beast Boy understood this and decided not to give him any pressure, "I get ya."

Junior let out a breath of air and leaned on his arm, "Yeah. And I have a really deep feeling she doesn't like me." Beast Boy rubbed his chin. "Mm-hm...and who is this _she_?" Junior's eyes raised up and nothing was said. "C'mon, I won't tell anyone! Who is she?!" asked Beast Boy, sounding more like a best friend than a father.

Junior stood up, "You promise you won't tell a living soul?" Beast Boy thought about this, "What about dead?" Junior's expression went grim. "Promise." said Beast Boy, raising his right hand. "Titan's honor...if we have one."

Junior accepted this and began, "You know that girl who brings Starfire's jar junk?" Beast Boy pouted, "Awwwwwwww! The perfect fighting couple!" Junior bit his fist, aggravated and pulled his hair, "And you wonder why I don't want to tell you things?!" Beast Boy smiled, "Stopping now." "Tonight I'm meeting up with her and her friends. They want to tell me something, I guess. I want to tell her something, but she...acts like we always do and nothing's going to change..."

"You two have been fighting since the day you met." said Beast Boy, remembering. "What happened?" asked Junior. "Well, it was like this..." explained Beast Boy.

_Flash Back_

Kelsey and Jack Airfire were swooning over their two-year old. "Where Patri?" the tiny girl asked. She was wearing a light pink dress with a white flower on the front. Her mother was combing her pink hair into two ponytails, one on each side. Her father gave her a cuddly, brown, stuffy puppy. It was her favorite toy and she would have none other. "You won't let go of Patrick will you?" asked her mother. "My Patri!" answered the girl, clutching the toy.

"Today you'll make a new friend!" her mother told her. "New friend?" asked the child. "Yes, and he's coming to play." Jamie spun around, "Play! Play! Play!" Her parents laughed and placed her in the playroom, where they had a safety gate made sure she couldn't get out. Soon, the doorbell rang and Kelsey ran to answer it. Jamie could her mother greeting the guests in the most syrupy voice ever. "Play?" she mumbled.

"Oh, yes, she's over here!" Her mother returned with two people. One had brown wavy hair, violet eyes and was very pretty. "Jamie, say hello to Amy!" her mother told her. The toddler opened and closed her hand, "Hi!" she squeaked. "Aren't you the cutest little girl!" complimented Amy. "Thankie!" Jamie answered. Amy smiled happily. "And say hi to Beast Boy." He emerged from between the two mothers, holding another toddler wearing a gray T-shirt, diaper, and gray sneakers. He was pulling his father's ears, "Mine!" he wined. Beast Boy smiled, "No mine! Yours are on _your_ head!"

Jamie looked at him. "Hi!" Beast Boy grinned, "Hey there! You must be Jamie." She nodded and her vision turned to Junior. Junior hadn't noticed her yet. "Hey there!" greeted Jack. Beast Boy turned around with Junior and shook his hand. "Great to meet you." he said. "I can see why you're a Junior." laughed Jack, looking at him. "I bet you're a sweet little boy!" crooned Kelsey. Junior turned to her, "No!"

Beast Boy held in his laugh at their reactions, "His new favorite word." he explained. "Of course." agreed Kelsey. The adults began to head to the living room, opposite of the playroom, but viewable. Beast Boy lowered Junior on the other side of the gate, "You stay here and play. We'll be right over there." he pointed and left.

Junior rested his head on the top of the gate, "Dada no play?" His ears drooped and his eyes silently filled up. Jamie was tired of being ignored, so she tapped Junior on his back. "Who you?" she asked. He turned around, surprised. "Junior." "I Jamie. Why you cry?" He wiped his eyes, "Dada no play."

"Play!" Jamie cheered happily. Junior stared at her. She picked up her toy, "This Patri! You this!" She pulled Junior's ear. "Look!" She pointed to her stuffy that also had pointed ears. "You like Patri!" Junior smiled, "That puppy." Jamie hugged her dog toy. "I love Patri! You like Patri! I love you too!" Junior rubbed his face, "Wah?" Jamie tossed her Patrick dog to the side and ran for Junior. She placed her arms around him and hugged tight. Junior stood in shock, he wasn't expecting that. "Give hug!" ordered Jamie. Junior put his arms around her and hugged tightly. "Hug hurt!" Jamie said under a muffled cry that was covered by her lack of air.

The adults were talking and Beast Boy was very close to yawning. Living an everyday life sounded boring to him. The way the Airfires' explained it, at least. He rested his head in the palm of his hand and looked around the room. It was nicely furnished. It looked like Kelsey Airfire spent her time making sure everything was in order. His eyes wandered around until they reached the gate of the other room, where the kids were. He could see Junior and Jamie...He stood up quickly, "Junior NO!" The others stopped talking and looked at Beast Boy as he ran to the gate and pulled Junior away from Jamie.

Jamie cried loudly with fear, trying to gasp in air, her face changing from dark blue to purple to red. "Oh, what was he doing?!" asked Kelsey, picking up Jamie and bouncing her. "I think he was giving her a hug..." answered Beast Boy, looking down at Junior. Soon enough, everyone met his watch and Junior looked back them, terrified. His mother was looking at him sadly, while the other two were staring at him in shock, and Jamie was glaring at him, "You BAD!"

Junior's lip trembled and he exploded emotionally. Beast Boy picked him up and Junior dug his face into Beast Boy's shirt. "I am so sorry, he didn't mean to hurt her." Amy apologized.

"We know. I'm sure he wasn't. He's just a little strong, we see."

"Yes, a little too strong, but he's still learning."

Junior ignored this and listened to the sounds of his own crying. "We should go..." Beast Boy poked Amy. "Well do come again! I'm sure Jamie will have forgotten the whole thing by then." They turned to go and before they left, Junior looked up and saw Jamie with an angered face.

_End Flashback_

Junior tapped his face, "So that's how it all started!" Beast Boy nodded, "Yup. I think you've been liking her since you were two, if you ask me." he joked. Junior glanced at Beast Boy, "No one _did_ ask you..."

"So you need help talking to her?" Beast Boy asked. "Something like that. I can talk to her, it's to start it."

"How about not calling her names like you do when you see each other?" Beast Boy suggested. "Yeah, that might work..." Junior agreed.

"And do something nice for her."

Junior thought about this, "I did that already. She didn't appreciate it." Beast Boy shrugged, "Give her time." Junior shook his head and looked at his watch. It was six thirty! Junior jumped up, "I gotta go! Thanks dad!" He ran down the stairs and into his room, strapping his blades on. He zoomed out of the tower and down the street. The neighborhood began to change the farther he went down. Even the sky seemed to change with the atmosphere.

He made a turn and looked around. "I know it's around here somewhere." He could hear music that was blasting extremely loud from where a large open pipe was. This pipe was attached to a wall and had a little water dripping out, but the closer Junior went to it, the louder the music was. He climbed into the pipe and rolled inside the narrow tunnel. After a few minutes, there was a light near the end.

He looked out of the opening and saw a huge platform with pipes and stairs all around, leading to different floors of the garage. This place had no roof, so everything was an outdoor thing. There was one car there, but the roof had been changed into a landing course. He saw Bubbles, with her ballet routine, spinning gracefully, but stopping and glaring at Slash, who was causer of the blasting music. "Lower that down, Slash!" she screamed.

He didn't hear her on the count that he was right next to the speakers, going deaf.

"Let's take some calls from the request line, caller number one? Hey, man what's up, this is Dominic from Sheano Park. What's up Dominic?"

"Slash!!!"

"Freek-a-leek,Shamica, Kisha, Tara, freek-a-leek, Sabrina, Krystal, Yolanda,freek-a-leek, Falisha, Tanisha, Shovon, freek-a-leek Moenic, Christina, Yolone!"

Bubbles raced over and jammed her finger on the off button. Slash looked up from his magazine, "What's wrong with you?! Don't shut out my music!" "It's too loud!" she explained. He glared at her, "Don't touch the box."

He turned it on, same volume as before and she sighed. Junior jumped onto the platform and skated to her, "Hey." he said. Bubbles looked at him and smiled excitedly, "Hi! Fizz! The hero's here!" Slash looked up and turned his music off. "Yo, green!" He got up and went over to them. "Oh, you turn the music off now?" Bubbles asked irritated.

Slash pushed Bubbles out of the way, "Don't mind her, she's always irritatingly annoying like that." Bubbles crossed her arms and looked away. Slash looked at her and smiled, then turned his head up. "The boss'll be here any second." "Why am I here in the first place?" asked Junior. "We want you in the gang." answered Slash.

A metal grinding noise was heard and Fizz jumped out at them from one of the rails. "Gum!" he called. She came out from the side with a clipboard and shook her head as she passed Junior. "She really doesn't like me..." he thought sadly. "Before you enter in, I need to see more skill. You're wearing blades which shows me you're smart enough to come here prepared." Junior said nothing. This was probably the most Fizz ever said to anyone.

Fizz crossed his arms and waited. Slash came in, "You gotta grind a pipe, green." "If Fizz likes it, you're in!" whispered Bubbles to him happily. "Where do I start?" Junior asked, ready for anything. Gum looked at him as if that was the worst thing he could ever say and Fizz blinked. He pointed to a rail that was close to them and pointed to on that was on opposite. "Start. Finish." he explained.

Junior took a deep breath, "Luck." he said and jumped onto the steep rail, sliding down quickly. This had a dead end, so he jumped onto the parallel pipe, riding it backwards. "Wow!" adored Bubbles. "Sweet!" nodded Slash. Fizz continued to watch and Gum clenched the pen she was holding.

He spun around and jumped onto a billboard, sliding and tearing a little of it off. He landed back on the pipe and jumped on the stair railing spinning down in circles. Junior kept his focus as he jumped and switched his position. He didn't fall as most did and this impressed the others, except for Fizz.

One more rail to jump on and he was done. "Yes!" said Junior, while he made the rail and skid down, jumping off the bar and held his arms out for balance. "Yo! I've never seen anything like that before!" cheered Slash. "You rode that like an animal, man!" "I know!!!" agreed Bubbles, watching Junior. Fizz rolled up to him, "You got the skill."

"Yay!" said Bubbles, jumping with cheer.

"Cool." smiled Slash.

Fizz grabbed the clipboard, tossing it to Slash, and Gum went off into a dark corner by herself. "Full name?" asked Slash. "Garfield Mark Logan Jr." Junior answered. "Oh, a strong name for a strong guy, huh?" giggled Bubbles, squeezing his arm. Slash wrote it down, "Bubbles, you're making me sick. Go ballet or something." Bubbles looked at him hopefully. "You finally want to see my dance?"

He shook his head pathetically, "Heck no! I just need you to do something that doesn't involve you talking while we fill this out."

She sighed and left. "Sorry about that." apologized Slash. Junior shrugged. Slash filled out the rest with Junior's answered and smiled, "You sign here and you're done!" Junior read the paragraph, "What's 'the rule breaks and so do you'?"

Slash looked around to make sure no one was there to hear, "Between you and me, Fizz isn't the greatest with the mind. We had Slice and Cream, but they broke rules and Fizz went to have some kinda 'talk' with them. I don't know what happened to them, but all I know is that I never saw 'em again." Junior blinked.

He looked at the paper. "What made you come here?" he asked Slash. "Me? Well...I guess I had nothing better to do. It gets boring and that was a reason. Plus some..." His eyes moved to where Bubbles was, "...other things pulled me in." "Uh-huh. Then I guess I'm with you." said Junior, signing his name. "Now you need a name." Slash told Junior.

"A name?"

"Yeah, real names are against the rules, man. Fizz'll get on ya case if you call a regular name."

Junior looked up at Fizz, was reading a magazine on the third floor all the way on the top in a large chair. "What's your real name anyway?" Slash pointed to himself with his thumb, "Phil." Junior nodded, "And Fizz?" Slash shrugged, "I don't know and I'm doubting he'll tell us. Guy hardly talks."

Junior nodded, "Yeah, I noticed his expression does more talking than his mouth." "Right, so a name...this'll be easy, you're new name is gonna be..." Bubbles came racing towards them and tripped, pushing Slash into a table. "Bubbles, could you be any more of a klutz?!" She stuck her tongue at him and turned to Junior, "What are you two talking about?"

"My name." he answered. "Oh! You need one. Um,...how about Animal?" she suggested, twirling. Slash got up, "Bubbles, can you just...hey, you know that's pretty good." Bubbles' eyes twinkled, "My dance?" Slash slapped his cheek and pulled his face down, "No, not your dance! The name!" "Oh..."

Slash nodded, "You are now Animal, shredder of steel!" he announced to Junior. "Welcome to the Ginjins!" Bubbles hugged him. "Now you gotta go shopping!" she told him. "Why?"

"Find clothes that fit your name. It works and people know you're with us!" Junior blinked, "Oh. Okay, if that's what I need..." "To the mall! I'll go with you!" Bubbles grabbed his arm, blushing lightly. She looked at Slash, "You come too! And Gum!" Slash turned to Gum's direction, "Yo, Gum, you coming?" She just stared at him empty. "I...guess that's a no?" Slash shrugged.

Gum sighed, "Why did I let him do this?" She glanced at Junior. He was watching her curiously with interest. "What's he staring at?" she muttered. Junior realized Gum had met his glance and he quickly looked away. Slash turned his head up and yelled, "Fizz! Me, Bubbles, and Junior..." Gum got up and joined them. "...and Gum are going out for a while." Fizz jerked his thumb in the direction of the entrance and went back to his reading.

They all left and didn't come back until eight. Junior was carrying a bag filled with his new clothes that all three of the others had finally agreed on that he liked. "Heading home." said Slash. "Uhh..." Bubbles grabbed his hood before he could move. "What?" "Can you take me home?" Slash raised an eyebrow, "You can take yourself home." Bubbles held her wrist, "Yeah, but it's dark and you know I don't like being by myself in the dark..."

Slash looked at Junior, "You _do_ see what I have to deal with, right?" "See you guys tomorrow!" Bubbles called, yanking Slash with her down the street. Junior waved and so did Gum. "So..." he turned. "So what?" asked Gum, giving him a curious eye. He shook his head innocently. She sighed, "You know, maybe you can still get out, I mean if I ask Fizz, he might let you go..."

Junior stared at her, "What? Why?" She looked at him, "Junior, you...I can't let...just because...oh, never mind!" He stayed quiet. "You better get yourself home. It's not safe here at night." she warned. "What about you?" he asked. "I'll be fine. I'm going to stay here a while." He nodded and risked a smile. Gum looked at him and realized this was the very first time he had ever smiled at her. She smiled back, and it felt nice. He turned and left, "Later." he called back.

Junior rushed down the block and Gum looked at the sidewalk, quiet. She was going to have to deal with him all day now. "He doesn't seem so bad once he acts like himself..." she mumbled. She stretched and left down the opposite side way Junior had gone. Neither Junior, nor Gum had realized a pair of dark, cold eyes had been watching them from the shadows.

**A/N:** I don't wanna give extra information, but...I hope you already understand that Fizz isn't all there. Sick and crazy! Maybe you'll like this story more at the end! Heheheh. I love stories and movies with a crazy dude in there. Makes it all good. Review!

-_The ShapeShifting Chick_


	6. Now What's All This About?

**Now What's This All About?**

The door opened and the teenager rolled inside. Amy looked out from the kitchen, "Where've you been all this time?" Junior passed her and went into the refrigerator to get a soda. "Out." he answered. "Don't give me that! I want to know where've you been and with who!" Amy began to raise her voice. "Mom, calm down! I was out with some friends!" Junior shrank back.

"Which friends? I said who." demanded Amy. "Fizz, Bubbles, Slash, and Gum!" he answered from a corner, protecting himself. Amy crossed her arms, "You're hanging around that Fizz kid?" Junior opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Beast Boy walked in, saw Amy's pose and walked back out. "Beast Boy, did you know your son is hanging around that Fizz boy?" Beast Boy slid back into the room slowly, "Come again?"

"You knew, didn't you?"

Beast Boy slumped a little, "Ah, he was looking forward to it. Don't worry, Jamie's in that group." Amy's eyes went to Junior. "You're in a group that Jamie's in? Since when have you two been getting along?" "Since today." Junior announced, and Beast Boy smiled. "Plus, Fizz hardly talks! You can't blame him for anything!" he defended. "It's not that. The way he has others come to him isn't right. That's very strange." Amy said, relaxing a little.

"And who are the other two?" Amy continued, looking for something in the drawers. "Bubbles and Slash." "Who are they?" Beast Boy spoke up, "I think I've seen those two before." Junior looked at him, "You have?" Beast Boy sat down, "Well, I don't know a lot of people whose names are Bubbles and Slash, but there was a time when I saw two kids racing down the street. One looked like she was a ballerina and the dude had a loud mouth."

Junior nodded happily, "That's them." "Yeah, they didn't look too bad."

"All right. And what's that bag?" Amy asked, noticing it. "Uh...oh, clothes." Amy and Beast Boy exchanged glances, "Clothes?" they both repeated. He nodded, deciding not to tell them he had just gotten excepted into a gang. He went to his room and ripped open the bag. The store clerk had gone crazy with the stapler and the rim of the bag was lined with neat little metal clips.

Two shirts fell out and his pants. He picked up the one he liked best of the two and put it on. He turned and checked in the mirror. He would need a different hairstyle to match the style of the shirt.

He threw his new clothes on his chair and climbed into his bed. A knock on his door, and he opened on eye, "What?" "Let's go, slacker." Junior pulled on his face, "Ohhhh!" After training and a shower, Junior went into his room, pulled a T-shirt and some boxers on and crawled into his bed. Today seemed like a dream. "How long can I keep this a secret though?" he wondered to himself.

Brightness seeped through the clouds and into Junior's room. He woke up, eyes half closed, and went to the bathroom as if hypnotized. He went back to his room and put on the new clothes. "What's happened to you?!" asked Amy, lowering her cup when she saw him. "Nothing, why?" Beast Boy yawned and blinked, "You look like you were attacked by an animal." Junior shrugged, "That's what they call me."

Amy stayed quiet, watching the boy. "I hope this is one of those stages boys go through..." Junior left soon enough and went to the Garage Park. "Get it away from me, Bubbles!" "But he likes you!" Junior hopped out of the pipe and turned his attention to his friends. A medium white dog with brown spots was trying to lick Slash's face. He kept pushing it away with his skate, but the dog would return, jumping.

"Whose dog?" asked Junior looking at it. They both looked at Junior and smiled. "It works for him!" said Slash, nodding. "Oh wow! You look great!" giggled Bubbles. Junior was wearing a white shirt that was torn on the short sleeves, the bottom, and it had a couple of tears in the middle. He wore his new black Jean shorts that matched his blades and he gelled his hair, making it look messy, yet neat at the same time.

The dog sniffed his hand and wagged it's tail. "I was on my way here and he followed me. I didn't have the heart to shoo him away, he's too cute!" bubbled Bubbles. Slash shook his head, "I don't like dogs." he mumbled. The dog ran at him, knocking him down, and began slobbering all over his face. "Gross! Get it off me! Bubbles?!" Bubbles laughed and the dog ran off with Slash's sunglasses in his mouth. "I'm going to KILL that DOG!"

"Tiger." said Bubbles. Slash looked at her, "What?!" "I've decided to call him Tiger." "You're not telling me you're actually _keeping_ that thing?!" Bubbles folded her arms, "Well, now that you put it that way, yes!" "Bubbles, I don't like dogs!" "Well, sucks to be you!" she said, calling the dog over. It sat still, wagging its tail happily, glasses between his teeth. "He has my shades!" growled Slash.

Junior looked around, "Where's Gum?" Bubbles got up, "She's not here yet. Not like her, she's usually the first besides Fizz." The dog had gotten up and sat next to Slash. Slash glared at it, "You are gonna die..." Bubbles took the glasses from the dog and instead of giving them to Slash, she put them on Tiger. "Awwwww! He looks even cuter!!!" she adored. The dog wagged his tail and barked.

Slash made fists, "Bubbles! Give me my shades! Don't put them on the stupid dog!" Bubbles hugged the dog, "He's not stupid, he's smart! And besides, you have a bunch of sunglasses, let him keep these?"

"It's a dog! He doesn't need them!" fumed Slash. "Please?" pouted Bubbles. "No!" "Pretty please?!" Her eyes became big and round, looking as if they were about to cry. Slash raised his fist, but put it down, grinding his teeth, "You are SO lucky you're a girl!" Bubbles smiled, "Aw, Slash can't hit girls?" she pinched his cheek. He smacked her hand away, "I can if I wanted to, but I don't." "And because you don't, you won't!" cheered Bubbles, winning the argument.

Junior laughed. This was too good. "What's all the yelling about?" They all turned to see Gum coming towards them. "Well you're late." said Bubbles. "Yeah, I know. Woke up late." She answered. Tiger walked to her and barked. Gum looked down and smiled. "Cute dog." she said. "See! Gum likes him too!" Bubbles defended. Gum looked at Slash, "Why is he wearing your sunglasses?" Slash looked away angrily.

Gum rolled to her usual spot and sat by herself. Bubbles began dancing and the dog followed Slash to his chair. He turned his radio on and blasted it. The dog leaped on his lap and licked his face. "Oh come ON!" Junior lifted the dog off of him, "Little guy's taken a liking to you." Slash looked up grimly, "Why don't you go take a liking to Bubbles? She found you!" he told the dog.

Bubbles sped over, "Would it hurt you to even lower the music for once while we're here?!" "Don't even start that! First of all, you're you! That's enough to drive anyone up the wall, or more or less INTO it! Second of all, you bring a stinking mutt over here that's wearing my glasses and is jumping all over me trying to lick my face clean, and..." he paused to look at Tiger. The dog was barking furiously at Bubbles.

Bubbles looked at him, too. "Tiger?" The dog growled at her and looked at Slash, wagging his tail. "Good boy!" cheered Slash. The dog gave a cheerful bark and went back to growling at Bubbles. "Slash, you make him stop right now!" she said in a shaky voice. "No, I like him this way. I think I just made a friend." he smiled. Bubbles hid behind Junior, "Slash, this isn't funny! He looks all crazy..."

"Are you kidding? This is great!" he said with a grin. "Slash, you make him stop or else!" He folded his arms, "Or else what?" "Or else I'll tie you to a chair and make you watch my ballet routines, all two hundred and sixty four of them, each fifteen minutes long!" she threatened. Slash's face went pale, "Bad dog! You do not growl at Bubbles!" The dog's tail went down for being scolded and he stopped.

She stepped out, "I can't believe I had to threaten you." she said sadly. "Oh, please. I was kidding..." he mumbled. She looked at him and smiled, shyly. Junior watched this show with interest. Gum was watching them too. Junior rode over to her, "Hey!" She glanced at him, "What do you want?" He looked at her. "Nothing."

"Well, are you just going to stare at me all day?" He blinked, "Uh..." She shook her head and crossed her arms. "You're kind of invading my space here." She shunned him off. Junior wasn't going to take this, even if was Jamie. "Oh, your space? So, this bothers you?" he took a step closer. She glared at him. "Guess not, since you're not saying anything." He sat right next to her and put his feet up on the small table in front of them.

She moved down the bench, muttering something under her breath. "What was that?" he moved down with her. "Get away from me." she growled. "Nah, don't feel like it." He yawned, unaffected. "Look!" she said, grabbing the front of his shirt, "You may be in the gang, but you're still Junior to me! Pull anymore of those stunts and you'll wish you'd never been born!" she let go and rolled off.

Junior went on the opposite side of the garage and sat on a rail. He stayed quiet for a real long time until Bubbles skated to him. "I was wondering where you were!" He nodded without a word. She sat next to him, "What's wrong?" "Ah, I'm fine..." he answered.

"No you're not. You look like Tiger when Slash yelled at him." Junior looked ahead and saw Gum on the other side, petting the dog. "Gum got you down?" she asked. Junior looked at her, "No..." but Bubbles knew the answer already. "Gum is...different than the rest of us. She's not totally with the gang...but she's with us all the same. She fits, but...in a different category." she explained. "I've known Gum since we were small and she's always been like that. But I think she's under pressure."

"What pressure?" asked Junior. "Both Slash and I think Fizz likes her." Junior froze and his insides crashed, "He does?" he asked in a whisper. "Well, that's what we think and I think Gum knows it. In a way, we're all kind of afraid of Fizz. He's kinda creepy, but our leader." Junior nodded sadly, "Yeah..."

Junior looked at her, "What made you join?" Bubbles thought, "Well, Gum is my best friend. Fizz asked her and me to be in it so we agreed together. We thought it would be fun and something to do, but it was a gang. There was Cream...and Slice before us...I haven't seen them in ever. And then Slash joined up because he likes me." she giggled.

"So that's the other reason..." Junior mumbled, smiling. "He won't admit it though..." she said. "But I know he likes me! Sometimes he stares at me and when I look at him, he turns away fast or something like that. But...I don't know. Slash...is..." "Slash is what?" Bubbles and Junior looked up. He was standing there with his arms crossed, "Talking about me?"

"None of your business." she answered him. Slash glared at her and looked at Junior, who pointed to Bubbles. "Why is it when I want you to talk, you won't? But when I could use some good quiet, you won't shut up?" Bubbles looked at him, "Why don't you go, practice or something?" He sighed and did just that.

Junior watched him try to handstand, but fell due to the sunlight flashing in his eyes. "I need my shades..." he heard Slash mutter. "You were saying?" "Slash is...I don't know. A surprise every day. You never know what he's going to do next." she said. "But teasing is always fun!" she laughed. "Slash!" she called. He looked at her, "What!?"

"You like me a lot, don't you?" He gave a disgusted expression, "You wish!" "See? He'll never say it." Bubbles explained to Junior. "Hm..." Junior agreed. "Well, I'm getting hungry, it was nice talking to you, Animal." She waved happily. "Yeah." He answered.

Eventually the sky darkened and he was alone. "Where is everybody?" he wondered.


	7. Chase Through The Sewer

**Chase Through the Sewer**

Junior looked around. The moon cast shadows of the rails and billboards all over the place. The garage wasn't a place to be at night. He checked his watch. It was getting late. He started to head out, when he heard the wheels of roller blades moving. He looked left and right. No one was there. There was the noise again! He searched and in the back was Gum, rolling around to nowhere.

He leaned on a wall and smiled. She had no idea she was being watched or that there was someone else there with her. Her face turned to the sky, "It's a great night!" she said happily. "Yup." agreed Junior. She jumped at the voice and looked around. "Junior? What are you doing here?!" He came out of the shadows, "Same thing I was going to ask you."

"Not that it's any of your concern, but I always stay here for a while after the other three go home." she answered. "It's quieter, the arguing duo isn't around." Junior nodded, "I know. They're always like that?" Gum rolled one way, then switched to the opposite, "Ever since they met." Junior sat on one of the side benches, "Sounds like us."

She suddenly stopped and she glanced at him. "I'm sorry." she said meaningfully. He was confused, "About what?" She looked up at the night sky, "For a lot of things." His expression stayed the same. "I remember when we were little. It was an accident. But, I never took it that way. And then every day was a repeat of the first. And earlier, I kind of, blocked you out." She turned and faced him.

"She had that on her conscience?" Junior wondered to himself. "It's okay?" he offered. She shook her head, "No it's not. I was unfair to you all the time." "Forget it." Junior told her happily. "How can you just forgive me?" she asked. Junior shrugged, "Brought up that way?"

"Yeah, your parents are nice." she agreed. Junior smiled, "In their good moods." The girl of pink sat next to him and smiled. He reddened, "Okay, well. Um, I better get going..." "...Junior?" He looked up, "You gotta stop calling me that."

Jamie's expression changed to confused. "According to the 'rules', calling real names is against them." he explained. "Fizz's stupid rules don't apply to me." she crossed her arms. Junior blinked, "How come?"

"I never follow them."

Junior scrunched his face, "But..." She glanced at him, "You think he'd do something to me?" Junior leaned on the back of the bench, "I've heard stories." Jamie folded her hands on her lap and looked down. He noticed this and touched her arm lightly, "You okay?" Her head bounced and lifted, her eyes staring at him. "I never thanked you for saving me."

Junior laid his arms out on the back of the bench and stared up, "Was nothing. You needed help and I helped. I like to..." His attention had moved from his talking to Jamie. She had moved down closer to him into his open arm so that it was almost around her. "To...?" she asked. He shook his head quickly, "Help people!" She nodded and smiled, "I know..." Junior pulled his arm back and scooched down, away from Jamie. She slid down with him until he was at the end of the bench and couldn't move anymore.

"I want to thank you." she whispered, leaning close. "Just say the word and it's done." Junior answered slowly. She put her arms around his neck, but he shook his head, "You can't kiss me." She let go, "Why?" Junior looked at her with innocent eyes, "I'm not sure if you know or if you didn't want others to know, but Fizz likes you...I don't want problems..." Jamie clenched her fists, "I hate that guy. He's a freak and is like a walking zombie who never talks! I could never like him! When you..." she calmed down, "When you saved me...it sort of opened a door that I had locked for a long, long time."

Junior stared at her. "It brought out...well..." she smiled at him. "It was a confusing thing. That's why I wasn't in a good mood." Junior rubbed his neck, "Well, that explains a lot..." She gave him a sweet smile, "The guy doesn't own me, Junior. And even if he does like me...who told you that?" Junior jammed his teeth, "Uh..." Jamie sighed. "It was one of the scream team. They can't stay quiet for anything in the world."

Junior smirked and sat still. Jamie put her head on his shoulder and his ears twitched. Together, they watched the stars and moon twinkle in the night. Soon enough, Jamie looked up at Junior and he glanced at her. "Uh...okay, well, it's...getting late..." he started, but she grabbed his hand before he could get up.

The young teen's face blushed a light red and he leaned closer to her. Jamie smiled, but before anything could happen, she grabbed something that was falling out of Junior's pocket and checked it out. "What's this?" she asked, flipping the device in her hand. It was small and yellow and had a T on the lid of the thing.

"No, give that back! That's my communicator!" demanded Junior. "I just want to see it." Jamie told him, getting up. "What does it do?" Junior also got up, "It used to blink when there was trouble going on in the city but I just use it to check in at home." Jamie held it in the light, "So it's like a phone?"

"Something like that, can I have it back now!?" Jamie rolled away from him, "Let me see it!" Junior went after her, "Jamie, it's not a toy! If I lose that, I'll be dead!" Jamie raced away and jumped on a rail, sliding a level down. Junior had no choice but to follow her. His parents were already going to be furious with him, it being late and him not calling to say where he was. But Jamie was making it worse, the later it was, the angrier his parents were going to be.

"Jamie, please?! I need that back right now!"

"Calm your nerves Junior, I'm not going to drop it!"

At that perfect timing moment, Jamie lost her balance and fell onto a little bridge they had there to cross over an open sewage pipe below. She banged into the rail and the communicator flew out of her hand and into the water below. "Jamie!" Junior jumped down and helped her up. "You okay?" She nodded, but pointed to the device floating away with the water's current.

Junior slapped his forehead, "Aw sh-" Jamie grabbed his hand, "Come on, we can get it." They quickly changed into sneakers and went back to the bridge. They jumped from it, being about a five foot drop, and ran into the large pipe. The water reached up to their knees, and Junior was glad he was wearing shorts. Jamie was wearing her short dress, so the water didn't touch it.

"It drifted over there!" she yelled, her voice echoing in the large area. They both ran to the spot and sighed. There was a three-way division into different pipes. "Now what?" moaned Junior. "We search all three." answered Jamie. After all, this was her fault. She had to help him. "We'll split. If we don't find anything, we'll search the middle one together." Junior nodded and they did just that.

Junior ran through the tunnel, smell worse than dead fish and as dark as midnight. He looked around and traveled deeper into the tunnel. "Come on! Mom and dad are going to kill me!" he mumbled, cringing every time he moved his feet through the sewage water. He stopped at a dead end and turned back. Junior looked into the tunnel Jamie had gone into. "Jamie?"

"Did you find it?" an echoing voice returned. "No, you?" "No."

She came into view, "Dead end." Junior nodded, "Me too. The middle." he said, taking her hand. They both went in, eyes sharp for the small, yellow device. "I think I see it!" Jamie called, once they were in the tunnel, the deep part that is. She ran to the item and picked it up. "Simple as pie." she cheered. Junior checked it to make sure it still worked, "Thanks! You're the best!" Jamie put a hand on her hip, "What are you talking about? I'm the one who lost it, remember?"

He waved it in her face, "But you found it again, that makes up for it." They both laughed and headed out, when a loud rushing noise was heard. "Junior?" Jamie grabbed his arm, "Does that sound like...?" "Water?" he put in, pocketing the communicator. A huge gush of water shot at them, knocking Junior to the side and taking Jamie with it. "Junior!" she screamed. "Jamie! Hold on!" he ran on the side, keeping up with her. "Junior! I can't swim!" her voice gargled.

Hearing this, he had no other choice but to dive in after her. He used all his strength to catch up with her, "Jamie! Calm down, just grab onto my neck!" She tried to, but the force began to sweep her away. "Junior, I can't! I'm going to drow-" Her voice ended in a cut of a sentence. "Jamie! Jamie, where are you?!" Junior screamed, horrified.

He couldn't find her anywhere. All was rushing water. He had to find her. At the end of the center pipe was a waterfall that led into the ocean. He swam furiously, aching all over from the pressure of the water pushing him in the opposite direction. "Jamie, please?! Say something!" Nothing answered back.

Junior grabbed onto the side of the ledge, but wouldn't give up. He searched desperately in the water. Something pink caught his attention and he swam quickly to it. Jamie was floating face down, but for some reason, her helmet was keeping her afloat. He pulled her to the side and with great desperation and time limit, he pushed her up and over the ledge. He climbed up and lifted her head, "Jamie?! Jamie?! Answer me! Come on! This can't happen! Please, don't let this happen!" He didn't know how to do CPR, so that was out of the question.

He popped her helmet off, revealing two pink pigtails, sopping wet, on each side of her head. He held her tight, afraid to let go. Her neck twisted, jolting a large amount of water out of her mouth. "Uhh..." she moaned. "Jamie?!" Her vision was blurry, but she crawled to the edge and threw up everything into the rushing water below. She stood up for a moment and fell to her knees, crying.

Junior ran to her and wrapped his arms around her. "It's over. It's all over." he said comfortingly. She cried and cried until she couldn't anymore and received the hiccups. "I was almost over..." she croaked, terrified. "Don't think of it anymore." he whispered. "Let's get out of here."

He carried her out of the pipe, mission successful, but terribly dangerous and a life almost lost. He placed her on the bench. "You're going to be okay?" She nodded slowly, making her wet pigtails swing from side to side. "Twice." She said quietly.

"Huh?" Junior muttered as he looked around the bench for their rollerblades. "Where are they? We left them right here..." he thought to himself. "You've saved my life twice already, Junior..." she said into her hands. "You're a real hero..." He shook his head, "No, I'm just doing what's right." She wiped her tears and sighed. This was a good one.

"Funny...I thought we left our blades right around here..." he muttered. Jamie nodded, "We did." she mumbled, squeezing her hair. "They're not there." he informed her, curiously. "How could they not be there?" Jamie questioned. "Unless someone came here and took them, they're not there." Junior said, not thinking about what he said.

"Someone..."

"Looks like we'll have to walk home." Junior figured. "I can't. There's a freeway to pass with cars and bikes. If you don't have something like that, they don't let you walk in the highway." Jamie told him. "Then come with me, maybe Cyborg can drive you." Junior offered. "Thanks." They walked out of the garage and into the street, heading towards the tower. Junior looked at the communicator, but the batteries where too low to make a connection. It did say the time though. It was twelve thirty.

Junior jammed the thing shut and put it back into his pocket. "I thought "I was going to be dead in those rapids...that's nothing to what my mom's going to do to me." Jamie stood quiet and thought to herself. She remembered something about the water pressure in the pipes. There was a wheel in the garage that was to be turned if there was a clog in the pipe. Someone had to turn it from inside the garage area in order for the rush of water to clean it. Someone was there, but who? She was sure was had been the only one there. Well, until Junior popped up.

"Something up?" a voice broke into her thoughts. "What?" "You look...thinking." he confused his words. "Yeah, about how the wheel turned itself in the garage." she answered. "What wheel?" asked Junior, shaking his head so water would come off. "In the garage there's a wheel to turn to make the water rush out like that. Someone had to turn it. And then our roller blades go missing? It can't be coincidence." she solved.

"I don't know, it does sound fishy but I'm too tired to think right now and we have blocks to go before we get to my place." Junior blew off. "Okay. Then I'll think about it." Jamie told him. When they got to the tower, Junior took a deep breath and opened the door. All the lights where off. Wasn't anyone waiting for him? Didn't they care? At least his parents...

They stepped in and the lights flashed on, blinding them for a moment. Junior blinked and saw his parents, arms crossed with a look of death, surrounded by the titans and his uncles wearing the same expression. Jamie gasped quietly, "Oh boy..." They stayed in their position and Amy exploded, "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Junior didn't have enough time to tell a lie, so he told the truth with a twist.

"Me and Jamie were at the garage and she wanted to see the communicator so I pulled it out and I dropped it into a sewage pipe and she helped me get it back." Junior explained. Jamie looked at him, but his eyes were on his parents. "I dropped it..." she thought. "Do you have ANY IDEA WHAT TIME IT IS?!" He nodded slowly and shamefully.

Amy grabbed his arm, "You had us going through an emotional state! We almost went crazy!" He closed one eye and cringed. Being quiet would be the right choice. "You are in so much trouble, you can count your teenage years good bye!" Amy shouted outraged. "Um, may I use your phone?" Jamie interupted. Amy switched personalities, "Of course, Jamie, your parents must be worried sick." She switched again, "And another thing! You bring Jamie into this mess as well. Now her parents are worrying because of you!"

Junior blew some air he had held in. He knew this was going to come at some point. Jamie glanced at Junior sorrowfully and went to the phone. "Go to your room and you will not come out for anything except food, training, and bathroom. Your internet access will be disconnected as your phone will. Your game systems are going to be locked up and your roller blades are going to be taken from you." Amy grounded. "I don't have any roller blades." Junior pointed out miserably.

"Don't you lie to me!" Amy yelled. "I'm not." She glared at him and shook her head, "Go NOW!" Junior walked to his room, passing Jamie on his way. She put her head down, "I'm sorry..." she whispered. He smiled and went to his room. "It was worth losing all my stuff."

Jamie hung up the phone, "My dad said to stay here if I can. He's going to pick me up." Amy nodded, "Of course." The titans shook their heads in disbelief that Junior would have kept them all worrying like that. "Not like him..." Beast Boy muttered. "I'll see what's up later."

As soon as Jamie left, Beast Boy entered Junior's room. He was on his bed, head hanging off the edge, throwing a beanbag at the ceiling. He could have sworn Junor was smiling, but the smile quickly went as Junior looked at him. "Well, now mom's done her yelling, I guess it's your turn?" Junior assumed.

Beast Boy shook his head, "No."

"Unplug my computer and phone?"

"No."

"Take my games?"

"No."

"My blades that I already told mom I don't have?"

"No."

Junior raised his eyebrows, "Then what?" Beast Boy sat on the bed, next to his son and leaned on his elbow, resting his head on his hand. "What's going on?" Junior threw the beanbag at his wall, "Same old." Beast Boy grabbed the beanbag from Junior, "No not same old. You've never done this before. Ever since, I don't know, you started hanging out with those kids, I'm not saying they're bad or anything, but you've changed. All mysterious and quiet all the time, caring about things you never have before, this is a shocker."

Junior looked away. What would his dad think if he knew his only son had joined a gang? No, they hadn't done anything wrong, yet. But with a leader like Fizz, who knows? He could have anything up his sleeve. "I know you have a thing for Jamie, yeah people do crazy things when they're in..." Junior gave him a grim look, "...in the position of liking someone." he rephrased.

"But you can't pull them into trouble with you..." Junior nodded, "I know." "Then why did you do this?" "She offered to help. I was going to let it go, but she wanted to help me. It was around nine. We jumped in the pipe and went through the sewer and found it. But then the water gush..." Junior immediately shut up. He wasn't supposed to have let that out.

Beast Boy's eyes grew large, "You two were in there during a cleaning?" Junior turned pale and stayed shut. "No wonder you're all wet like that! What happened?!" Junior turned to the floor and spoke that way. "We found the thing...and all of a sudden...water just gushed in at us. I...I was thrown to the side, but it took Jamie and she can't swim. I jumped in after her. She almost drowned..." Beast Boy stared at him.

"Then...our blades were stolen...we don't know what happened to those so we had to walk, which on barefoot is about an hour walk. That's what happened. Don't tell mom!" he explained quietly. "Why didn't you tell us all this before when you came in with Jamie?" asked Beast Boy. Junior looked up, eyes glassy, "I didn't want Jamie to get in trouble because of me..." Beast Boy sighed and ran his hand threw his hair, "You're really head over heels for this girl, huh? To risk all your privileges? All your freedom?"

Junior looked to the floor again and nodded, "Mm-hm..." Beast Boy smiled and put his hand on Junior's back, "That's my boy!" Junior grinned. "Okay, since you told me everything that went on, right?" Beast Boy started. Junior bobbed his head once and Beast Boy continued, "I'll see if I can get your sentence less than what your mom has planned." Junior blinked, shocked, "Really?!" Beast Boy gave a smirk, "When you're grounded, who do you think has to watch your doorway to make sure you don't go anywhere?" Junior laughed, "You?" "Bingo."

Beast Boy ruffled Junior's hair, "Dude, you need a shower. And throw those clothes in the bin, they smell like dead fish." Junior nodded, "Thanks dad!" Beast Boy waved and closed the door, "That's what I'm here for." Junior washed up and washed his clothes. His mother was on his tail all over the place, making sure her spoken words were being taken out. He leaped on his bed and shut out the world. He just saved another life that day. Even heroes need rest.

The sun rose and soon the doorbell rang. It was the first noise of the morning. Robin opened the door to three teens standing there with a dog following, carrying boxes. "Starfire ordered triple this time." Jamie told him.

"And why are we helping again?" muttered a boy following Jamie in. "Because it's the nice, sweet, gentle, loving, caring, friendly thing to do!" answered a blue haired girl following him. "It's a rhetorical question, Bubbles!"

"There are more outside." Jamie told Robin. Robin went to get Beast Boy and they helped the kids bring them in. Beast Boy looked at the two arguing. "Don't tell me, let me guess. Slash?" he pointed to him. "And Bubbles?" he pointed to her. They nodded. "Yeah, Junior's told me all about you two." They smiled. "And of course you." he glanced at Jamie. "It's the other guy I haven't heard much about." "Not much there is to know." Slash answered.

Jamie pulled Beast Boy to the side while Bubbles and Slash adored the grandness of the tower, "Can I tell Junior something quick, please?" Beast Boy looked around, "He's grounded you know." She took a deep breath, "I knew something like that was going to happen. But I want to apologize to him for all of this, and it won't mean the same if _I _don't tell him." Beast Boy ushered her upstairs to Junior's door.

"Be quick, I'll have to watch out for Amy, I knock, you need to get outta there fast!" "Thank you, Mr. Logan!" she hugged him happily. He smiled and knocked on the door. "Not hungry!" A voice inside yelled. "Visitor!" Beast Boy whispered quickly. The door opened, "Visitor?" Junior looked out. "Jamie?" Beast Boy hushed him and gently pushed Jamie in, "Make it quick, I'm taking a risk here."

The door locked and Junior stared at her. "What are you doing here?!" he asked, waving his arms around. "Well, I had to make a delivery. Slash and Bubbles are here too." she answered. "I don't think that was a good idea bringing them here." Junior told her worried. She looked at his room, "I needed the help."

She looked at him sadly. "I know you're grounded because of me." He sat on his chair, "Well, at least you're okay, right? That's the most important thing." Her pink eyes traveled to his, "My safety is the most important thing to you?" Junior tilted his head, "Well...yeah..." He stood up and put his hands in his pockets. "I mean, that's important to you, rig-" but his words were cut short by Jamie's kiss.

He stayed there for a minute or two, enjoying the moment until there was a rapping at the door. More of a bang than anything, as if someone was trying to kick his door down, which at the time would not be a very good thing to happen. Jamie pulled away, "That's my cue to go." Junior nodded understanding that he was still in trouble, "Yeah..." She gave him a quick glance before she opened the door and crept out, "Thanks again." The door closed and he almost yelled and jumped for joy. Closing his eyes, he fell backwards on his bed, "No, thank _you_!" he whispered happily.

The door began to open and Junior sat up straight, trying to get rid of his enormous grin. He moved his mouth and yawned. That was better. "Junior?" Turning to the door, he moved down on the bed, "Yeah mom?" She sat next to him, "You're lucky you have a dad like the one you have! We've decided that you're in for a week without entertainment and I'm still wondering if that's enough." Junior quickly decided to make this look affective.

"A whole week?! What am I supposed to do here?!" he asked. "Think to yourself." she said, getting up and leaving. "You brought this upon yourself, Junior. We punish you because..."

"Because you love me." Junior sighed dramatically. "I'm feeling all the love right here." he pointed to his chest. Amy closed the door and went to the living room as Junior cheered continuously in his room.

"What an adorable creature!" Starfire cooed. Tiger stood up on his hind legs and walked towards her, barking happily. "Aww..." Slash stepped up quickly, "You want it?" "SLASH!" His expression showed annoyance, "Never mind..." Bubbles appeared out of nowhere, "You will not give away my dog!" Slash looked at her pathetically, "Your dog? Who feeds, walks, trains, and deals with him following everywhere I go? ME!" Bubbles petted Tiger, "Maybe we can give Slash away, huh?" Tiger yipped and wagged his tail.

Slash crossed his arms, "Where's...Gum!" She came out of the hallway and rushed over. "Okay we can go now." "Animal's holding out okay?" "Yup!"

"Alright, going."

"Come on, Tiger!" Bubbles was pulling the dog, but he wouldn't budge an inch. "It's...time...to...go!" He sat and stayed there. Slash and Jamie were almost out the door, "Slash, Gum! He won't come!" Slash turned, "Good! Let's go!" Bubbles sat on the floor. "I'm not coming! He needs to go too!" Jamie looked at Slash and he shrugged, "What?"

She sighed, "You know what." He growled, "Come here...Tiger..." The dog ran at full speed to Slash, leaving Bubbles in his dust. "No, no, NO!" Slash backed up; hands in front of him, but the dog jumped him, knocking him down harshly. Bubbles ran over and looked at Slash, who was having his face washed by the dog. "Get. It. Off." he said separately. Bubbles lifted Tiger and Slash got up.

He looked at Bubbles with pleading eyes, "Please, can you make that dog go away? It gets on my nerves and I don't have much patience left!" She closed her eyes and crossed her arms, "I don't make you go away when you get on my nerves." She began to walk with the dog and Slash looked at Jamie, "I just need a very strong brick wall and the fastest race car out there."


	8. Face off with Death

**Face Off With Death**

Junior bounced off his bed and went to the bathroom. He was walking on springs ever since Jamie came to visit him. And yesterday was his last day of being grounded. He almost swallowed all his breakfast and greeted everyone cheerily. "Morning mom!" he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. She stared at him, "Where's Junior?!"

"Right here!" he said, pointing to himself. He smiled heartily and left the kitchen without any negative feedback. Wayne and Amy exchanged glances. "Was that my nephew?" he joked. "Honestly, I don't know!" Amy replied. "Hey pop!" Junior greeted his dad. "Hey. You're peppy today." Junior shrugged to this with a smile, "Going to buy new blades!"

"Okay."

He left the tower, also leaving everyone confused. Amy went to Beast Boy, "Did you happen to see Junior this morning?" Beast Boy smiled, "Overly happy?" "Was that week as horrible as we made it sound?" Amy worried. "Nah, he's just happy today. Nothing against that, is there?" Beast Boy said, hugging her.

Junior went into a sports store and soon came out wearing new blades. "That's better. Speaking of which, better see what the others are up to." he said to himself, racing down the block. He arrived at the garage and saw Jamie. She waved and he went over to her, "Where's everybody else?" "Fizz took off with Bubbles and Slash. Something about needing two."

"So he just left you here?"

"Yup. But now you're here, so...I'm not lonely anymore." she smiled. Junior returned the smile to his life long crush and put his hands behind him. "You thirsty?" he asked. Jamie stopped spinning in circles, "Well, I _could _use something to drink now that you mention it." "And hungry?" She gave him a curious stare. "What are you trying to accomplish Junior?"

He smiled an innocent, yet, truthful grin, "Getting you to come with me to get something to eat."

"And what makes you think I'll say yes and go with you?"

"I was hoping that me saving you twice already would give you some trustworthy-ness of me."

"Since you put it that way...sure, let's go!" Jamie grabbed his arm and they went off to the nearest food place.

"What kind of toppings?" asked the pizza guy behind the counter. "Half vegi and ?" "Half extra cheese." Jamie answered for him. "Kay, nine sixty." Junior gave the guy a ten-dollar bill and the man gave him his change. They waited five minutes and their pizza pie was ready. Junior picked up the platter and Jamie took the pitcher of soda and breadsticks.

"I didn't know you were a vegetarian." Jamie said, taking a slice. Junior poured their soda, "Yeah, both my parents are so...you know." She nodded and took a bite of her pizza. She was enjoying this time with Junior and she might as well before it was time to meet up with Fizz again. He gave her the creeps and she knew the others felt the same way. "Hel-lo?" She blinked and looked at Junior. He was waving his hand in front of her face. "What?" "You dazed out." "Oh! I'm sorry, were you saying something before?" Junior shook his head, "No. But you just sort of froze."

"Hm, must be thinking of something that I already forgot." she giggled. Junior smiled and chomped up his pizza quickly. Breakfast had seemed so long ago, it was as if he had just eaten, but he was hungry. "Um, Fizz? We said we weren't hungry..." A familiar voice rang through the air. "Slash? Fizz? What are they doing here?" Jamie wondered turning in her chair.

Fizz walked right up to them and slammed his hand on the table, "Having fun on your little date?" he said, very close to sounding like he was actually talking. "I totally forgot, this nut likes Jamie!" Junior thought to himself. Slash and Bubbles were behind him, curious as the two sitting were. The dog entered in and sat next to Slash.

"Didn't you have something you needed to do?" Jamie asked Fizz. "Yeah, I'm doing it now. Getting rid of something that's been irritating me since the day we let it in." His ice, cold watch went to Junior and held there. Slash looked at Fizz confused, "But, ...but Fizz, he didn't do anything!" "Broke a rule, now he's gotta pay."

Junior stood up, "And what rule was that?" Fizz glanced at Jamie. "Nobody hangs out with Gum alone." Bubbles and Slash looked at each other worried. Something big was going to happen for sure. "That's not a rule though." Slash said quietly. Fizz looked at Slash and Slash stayed silent, "It's one of my new ones."

"I don't usually do this on such occasions but this'll be special 'cus I don't particularly like you." Fizz told Junior, reaching into his jacket. Jamie got up, but weakly sat down when Fizz pulled out two large guns, aiming them at Junior. "He's got a gun!" People in the pizzeria ran out or jumped behind counters until it was only the group left.

"What are you _doing_?!" Slash barely whispered. "Taking out some hero trash that should've been taken out last week. Or should I say washed out?" he had an evil smile across his pale white face. "You did that?! You almost killed us!" Jamie rose up. "Too bad it didn't work the way I planned. As long as he was down there, I tried it out. If the both of you were gone, that'd clear my bad list. You, I don't like." He pointed one gun at Junior. "And you think for yourself. I don't like that." He pointed the other gun at Jamie.

"The other two do whatever I say, no problem, but no, we have to be all different inside. Stand up for all and save people when it's none of their business." He glared at Junior. Junior's mind raced. He was going to die here, in a pizzeria, due to a stupid mistake of joining a gang. He could stop him when he had the chance, _if_ he had the chance, but as long as there was a gun aimed at someone, _anyone_, he wouldn't risk it.

"Slash, Bubbles. Against the wall now." He ordered, aiming the gun set on Jamie at them. Bubbles ran to the wall and slid down, crying. "Shut it!" said Fizz. She shivered and more tears came streaming down her cheeks with mumbling. "I said shut it!" Fizz pointed the gun at Bubbles. Slash glared at Fizz and stood up, "Don't you _dare_ point that thing at her!"

Fizz grinned evilly, "Aw, so the rumors _are_ true." Slash clenched his fists, but Bubbles reached for his hand and she tugged. He kneeled down next to her and she cried into his shoulder, "I don't want anyone to die." she whispered, scared. "No one's gonna die." he rubbed her back comfortingly. Fizz caught this, "On the contrary, I think someone is."

He clicked the gun at Slash, setting it ready to shoot and did the same to the Junior-aimed one. Tiger got up, realizing his 'owners' were in trouble and growled at Fizz. He ignored this and blinked once. "Too bad, you two were quite the team together. But broken rules call for broken lives. Never turn on your leader." He grinned at Slash and held the gun, aimed for his head.

Tiger growled dangerously and ran at Fizz, foaming at the mouth. Fizz saw this coming attack, but it was too late to dodge it. Tiger jumped him, as he did many times to Slash, making Fizz shoot the shot into the ceiling. Fizz still had one gun though and Tiger jumped off and sank his teeth into Fizz's leg. Junior reached for the gun and held it defensively. "I can't do this. Even if he wanted to kill me and my friends." he thought.

He still aimed the gun at Fizz who was wrestling, trying to get the dog off. He saw Junior and grinned, "You don't have the guts." Junior looked at him darkly, "You tried to kill me, Jamie, Bubbles, and Slash, you think I'll just walk out of here like nothing?" Fizz kicked the dog, but it wouldn't let go, "Have you ever shot anyone with a gun, Junior? Ever caused a little bloodshed?" Junior's expression was the satisfaction of his question. "I thought so. All you are is a wimpy little scumbag of a hero whose got nothing to show for it. This isn't like your daddy's time, kid. Evil runs in all shapes and sizes." he laughed.

"And this rathole mutt is chewin at my friggin leg!" he said, aiming the gun he had at Tiger. Shots rang through the air and the dog's body went limp and lifeless. While the gun was down, Junior ran and punched Fizz, cracking his jaw. He held the gun right to Fizz's head, "Drop it now, I'm not afraid to do the right thing."

Fizz looked up at him and spit, "Go ahead, shoot me, prove your words." Jamie came from the side and kicked the gun out of his hand, "He doesn't need to." Slash picked up the gun and waved it at Fizz. "You were good, but we were better." Fizz laid back and closed his eyes. Blood soaked the bottom of his Jeans and he passed out. Junior bent both guns in half, "Bubbles, call 911! He shot himself!"

Wayne flipped through the channels, bored of watching the same thing over and over again. "Lifeless garbage!" he muttered. He grabbed his soda and sighed. Raven sat next to him, "Nothing good?" He shook his head disappointingly. "You'd think in eight hundred channels, they'd have something?"

Beast Boy came from nowhere and grabbed the remote, "My turn!" Wayne sighed, "There's nothing good on." "_Special news report coming to you live from downtown, Jump City_." Wayne shrugged, "At least it's something new."

"_Today there was a horrible scene over at a famous family pizzeria. Teenagers pulling out guns in broad daylight, aiming at innocents with no guilt at hand_."

"What's going on in this world today when you can't even get a slice of pizza without getting shot?" wined Wayne. "Shhh!" Raven hushed him. She wanted to hear this. "_We have actual footage from one of the security cameras, showing the troubled teen in action_." Beast Boy leaned forward, "This should be good."

The screen showed the pizzeria front, where you order, and people ordering. A few seconds past and nothing happened. "Gee, most interesting thing since Elvis..." Wayne yawned. Soon, the screen viewed five teens, the one in the middle was holding the gun and the other four were frozen. Beast Boy dropped the remote and nervously tapped Wayne rapidly. "What?" Wayne looked at the screen and so did Raven. They all stared in dead shock, "JUNIOR!"

Police cars had surrounded the pizzeria and ambulances came quick. They loaded Fizz into the car and drove him to the nearest hospital. Before they carried him off, he gave Junior an evil grin, assuring he'd be back.

"And your full name?" Slash looked up, "Philip Jordan Congran." The officer took down the information, "How long have you known this kid?" "About four years?" "Did you know he was capable of doing something like this?" "Well, I always thought he was a little screwed in the head, but nothing like this."

He asked some more questions and then went to Bubbles, because she was sitting right next to Slash. "Never thought the guy would flip like that..." Slash muttered after the cop had gone. "I know..." Bubbles agreed. A man in a white shirt rolled a cart over to all four of them. "Tiger...!" Bubbles mumbled. The dog was breathing, but only for the few moments it had left.

"We'll have to put him to sleep. He's going to go either way, I'll leave him here for a few minutes." They looked into the cart and inside was a tray that Tiger was laying on. His big brown eyes looked up silently and his tail twitched painfully. "Hey..." Slash whispered, kneeling down, eye leveled with Tiger.

Tiger licked his nose and gave a cry, giving his tail a weak wag. They all smiled and petted him. Bubbles sighed sadly, "You were the greatest dog ever, Tiger!" Jamie nodded, "If it wasn't for you, we'd all be dead..." Junior rubbed his head carefully, "You're a good dog." "The best in my book." Slash mumbled.

The man came back, "Time to go." he said as he strolled the cart away. They could hear Tiger's cry as he was loaded into the van and taken away. Slash sat on one of the outside benches to a table and stayed quiet. Junior turned, but some cop began asking him questions. "I already answered a bunch!" he told him. "We need these answers."

Bubbles sat next to Slash, "You'll be okay...?" He looked at her and nodded, "Yeah." but his eyes answered something different. She moved closer to him, "You know, you stood up for me..." He looked at her and raised an eyebrow, "I know." She smiled and her eyes shined with a loving glow, "That was really sweet." He leaned away from her, "Okay." "And even though you make it sound like another chore, you still walked me home almost every night...and we talked a lot..."

Slash stood up and sat at the next table, he didn't need to hear all this gooey softness. It just wasn't him. Bubbles followed him, "And..." she looked at him. He was shaking his head, "Can you stop with the marshmallow gunk you're telling me?" Bubbles dropped and wrapped her arms around him, placing her head on his chest. "Bubbles!" She squeezed him tightly.

"Come on Slash, you know you like me!" she said. He tried to push her away, but couldn't. She was stronger than he thought. "Leave me alone." he told her. She shook her head, "Say you like me." Now, he shook _his_ head, "Never." "Say it!" "No!" "Say it!" "No!" "Saaaaay ittttt!" "NOOO!" A bright smiled appeared on her face, "I know my sweetness works a charm on you." "Yeah, sure, believe what you want, now let me go!" he tried to get up, but almost fell. He sat and she was still attached to him. "Bubbles, eventually your going to get tired..."

She looked at him, "You're right!" she sat on his lap and continued to hug him. "Get off!" he shouted at her. "So you'll never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever say you like me?" she questioned. He shook his head negatively. "So that means your saying you don't like me which means you _do_ like me, but just won't admit that you like me even though your saying you don't like me?" Slash stared at her, trying to figure out what she said, "Uhhh,....yes...no! Wait, what?!" She cheered, "You said yes first!"

"No! I'm confused!" he told her. "You like me, you like me, you like me!" she began to sing. "Bubbles, shut up!" Bubbles put her arms around his neck, "Gee, aren't you mister grumpy? Well, I'll let you in on a little secret." She whispered in his ear, "I like you too!" "What?!" Slash said in disgust. "Yup, and now I'm your girl!" she rubbed her nose against his and for the first time in his life, Slash blushed lightly. "Aw, you're turning red!" she giggled.

"Get off." he mumbled and she did, but sitting next to him, she didn't let the hug go. "PHIL!" someone screamed and he looked up. "B-Bubbles, let me go now! Bubbles, let me go! Please?! Before-" A lady and two older teenagers ran up to them and Bubbles slowly let go. The lady grabbed him into a neck-snapping hug and his siblings joined in. "We saw everything on TV! Oh, we thought you were dead! When I received that call from the police, your friend! I couldn't believe it! Oh, I'm so happy my baby's all right! Is this your girlfriend? How come you've never introduced us? Hello dear, I'm Mary Congran, Philip's mother, oh you are a pretty one!" Slash melted with embarrassment from his family as Bubbles giggled and talked with his mother.

"Ally!" Bubbles parents arrived and chatted neatly with Slash's family, watching their daughter reattach her arms around the boy's chest and blush. Suddenly, the conversation changed from the recent happening to the future and their children, "Oh, so adorable...young love....just the sweetest thing...and they've grown up together..." Slash stared ahead grimly, with Bubbles glued to him, wondering what he had done to deserve this punishment.

Meanwhile, after Junior answered more questions, he sighed and looked down. A hand on his shoulder made him look up. "Three." Junior blinked in total confusement, "Huh?" "Three times already that you've saved my life. I don't know what to say." Junior smiled at Jamie and they hugged each other, happy to be alive. Junior let go, wide eyed. "What's the matter?" Jamie asked, worried. "I hugged you..." She nodded, "Yeah?" He left her in a different world and cheered, "I hugged, I actually did it!"

"I think the shock went to your head, Junior..." Jamie smiled halfway. "No, you don't get it. I could never do that before. I would always hurt people! After you...you...you..." realized Junior. She had been the reason for his edgyness, the fear that he had received when they were young. But now it was gone. _She_ had cured him. They both sat together, smiling and blushing when, "Junior!" His eyes switched from Jamie to his family. "Mom! Dad!"

"Jamie!" Her parents had arrived too. She ran into their embrace and stayed there. Junior ran to them both, noticing the others were following up close. Amy hugged him, tears of mixed emotions flowing down her cheeks, and Beast Boy hugged him with silent happiness his son wasn't hurt. "I TOLD you that boy was trouble!" Amy cried.

"You don't know how right you are mom." Junior answered. Beast Boy let him go and watched him, taking a deep breath, "Now explain how all of this came to be." Junior sat down and sighed. "Two weeks ago...I saw all of them in the street and we talked for like a few minutes. Then the next day, I went to get something for Starfire, she was making a cake or something, and I saw them again. Jamie fell in the street and a truck came at her. I jumped in front of it and stopped it. That's why my back was all wrenched up..." he explained. Everyone stared at him expressionless.

"Then they asked me to meet them the day after and I went. Fizz accepted me in his gang..." Beast Boy shook his head sadly and Junior's heart sank. He knew the disappointment he was bringing. "Keep going." Amy said quietly. "Then...last week...when I lost the communicator..."

Jamie stepped up, "I lost it." Junior looked at her, but they needed to give the truth. "I wanted to know what it did and I took it to see. Junior warned me not to play with it and to give it back, but I wouldn't listen. I tripped and dropped it into the sewer pipe." Junior picked up, "We climbed in and got it, but then a huge gush of water came out at us. When that was over, we climbed out and our blades were gone, so we walked home, that's why I was really late. That was Fizz, he tried to get rid of me before. Then a little while ago, Fizz took out the guns saying I broke one of his rules, because me and Jamie were eating together and he liked her. He threatened everybody..."

Junior looked down, ashamed to finish anymore. Jamie stood next to him and held his hand. Amy's eyes were wide and round and Beast Boy was expressionless. No one made a sound, not even breathed. Junior moved forward and gave his parents a hug. The reds, blues, and whites of the police cars soon moved on, and they were finally allowed to go home.

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_The ShapeShifting Chick: (sniff) One chapter left...only one. I always get sad when I finish off a story, but every story has an ending and this is like a part two to Teen Titans. Wahhh! (smacks head) I need to finish others! Good idea! Review! You won't have to do much more I ask of you!_


	9. Aftermath

Aftermath 

The door rang and Junior got up from the couch. He hadn't been grounded or anything from the previous day. His family was just happy he was alive. Opening the door, he smiled. "Kind of late much?" The boy pointed to the girl besides him, "Her fault. All of it."

A bunch of people entered in and the titans soon joined up. It was a day to relax and celebrate their aliveness. Slash walked in wabbley, looking confused. "What's wrong with you?" Junior asked. "I've been on wheels so long, I can't even walk right." he answered. Bubbles held on to his arm, "I can help you." she offered, with a huge smile. "Yeah, thanks." Slash answered flatly.

The teens went to the roof and Junior sighed happily, "Good thing this is all done with." Slash lied out on the edge of the roof and put his arms behind his head, "Yeah, you know, I feel...free." The door opened and Jamie came out, "Hey guys." Junior smiled and waved. Bubbles sat near Slash and moved over. He looked up cautiously, but she stopped. He looked away, and she moved again. "What are you doing?" he asked her, irritated. "This!" She said, leaning over and kissing him. He pulled her away in a dead blush, "Bubbles!"

"Awww!" Jamie giggled. "Please! Don't encourage her! My mom was practically planning out a wedding yesterday!" he told them. Bubbles jumped up and began twirling, "It has to be a vanilla cream cake, outside during the sunset, and after we kiss doves will fly all over, slow music at the reception, I guess you can have some of your music too..." Slash stared at her and the other two started laughing.

The door opened and Beast Boy came out with plates of food, "Hey, I hear happiness up here..." They smiled and took the plates. "Letter for you kid." he said, giving Junior an envelope. "What's it say?" asked Slash and Beast Boy at the same time. Junior opened it and read it. "Fizz is going to a teenage therapy insane asylum and is going to be under strict watch of the law. He had a terrible record which will not be given due to the rashness." Jamie winced and thought about the other two members she had never seen again.

"So he's in a psycho bin...it's where he belongs." said Beast Boy. "No kidding." agreed Junior. "Well, you guys relax up here, I'm going back down." he said, ruffling Junior's hair. "He won't hurt anyone anymore, that's for sure." Junior pocketed the letter. "Sick guy..." Slash mumbled. "I almost forgot!" said Bubbles, going down the stairs with Beast Boy. Slash watched her go and waited for the door to close, "You told her, didn't you?!" he aimed at Jamie.

"Told her what?" Jamie asked innocently. "That I liked her!" Jamie smiled, "You know she finds a way for you to tell without you even knowing." Slash held his arms out, "But did you have to let _that_ out?" The door opened and they stayed quiet. Junior ate his food and watched what was going to happen. Slash went back to his spot and sat. Bubbles sped over to him with a wide grin. "What?" he asked curiously. She stayed without a word so he leaned back, "You're not gonna...kiss me, are you?"

"No...you make it sound like a bad thing." she said, voice monotone. Bubbles pulled out a medium sized box and gave it to him, "Don't shake it!" she warned as he was about to. "What is it?" he asked. "Just open it!" Slowly, he opened the box and looked inside. His heart softened as a pair of big brown eyes looked up and him and a slow, caring smile came across his face. "Um...I was walking yesterday after you know what happened and I heard a bunch of squeaking and crying so I went to see what it was. I found out our little Tiger was a daddy, so I took the puppies home and my parents gave them away, but I saved this one for you..." Bubbles explained, shyly.

Slash picked it up, face to face, and the small puppy made a tiny cry and licked his nose. He looked up and gave Bubbles a real smile, "Thanks Bubbles..." He glanced at the puppy, "You know I don't like dogs though..." Bubbles sighed in disappointment that this idea didn't work. "But...for this one I'll make an exception." he finished brightly. Bubbles smiled radiantly, and she sat down, kissing him. The tiny creature Slash was holding made a sad cry, as if her doing this made it angry. "Hey, I need to teach you how to growl at Bubbles!" Slash grinned. Bubbles shook her head grimly, "Oh yeah, he needs a name, you know."

Junior and Jamie left the two to decide the puppy's name and sat on the edge by themselves. It was quiet here and no one could bother them, as long as the other two were busy. "You know, before I had felt like there was no one out there like me. Who could understand me or to hang around with so I could fit in." He told Jamie. She listened attentively. "I thought it was my powers that kept me from having that." Jamie shook her head, "No, you fit in with or without powers. It was just your shyness that kept you from being noticed."

Junior glanced at her. She understood him perfectly. Listening to his dad helped him a lot in this situation and even though it didn't fall into his exact plans of how it would go, it still worked. "So, now that you've got the girl, got the friends, got the loving caring family you've always had, what's next to achieve, Animal?" she asked him softly. Junior brought up one knee and leaned his head on it, face facing her, eyes shining with light purple glitter. "I'm going to work on being Junior." he answered. Jamie smiled and sat closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder as they both watched the brilliant colors of the setting sun disappear into the night.

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_The ShapeShifting Chick:_ _Well...(sniff) that's it! The end! (tear, tear) No more...ah well. It was fun while it lasted. And for the count, I totally loved Junior and Slash. I don't know why but I did. Now when I read this over and over...lol, I'll remember! Thank you for all those who've reviewed and those who will. Check out my other stories and enjoy them all! (throws flowers and Teen Titan stuffies to all)_


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